


Young Heroes of LA

by KaidenThePunk



Category: Septiplier - Fandom, Youtubers, jacksepticeye, markiplier - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Superheros, Superpowers, YouTube, YouTubers - Freeform, hero - Freeform, heros, superhero
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-01
Updated: 2017-04-28
Packaged: 2018-05-24 01:45:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 19
Words: 72,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6137059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaidenThePunk/pseuds/KaidenThePunk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Warfstache is a normal college student, that by day, goes by the name of Mark Fischbach. He's in LA studying Engineering. His two best friends, Bob and Wade, are also with him. Mark has an odd roommate by the name of Sean McLoughlin, but he prefers to be referred to as Jack, which Mark doesn't bother to question. They're casual friends who like to play video games and act like a married couple in front of their friends. One day, while trying to be a hero, Warfstache runs into an odd boy-- Another hero, by an unknown name, and a glorious face and hair. Wait, what? Mark found himself quickly enamored with this mysterious hero. He wants to know more about him, in a way he's never felt over another person.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Warfstache and the Masked Boy

**Author's Note:**

> I have lots of characters tagged that are not in the story right now, but if their names in the character list, they will show in later chapters, and I plan to have this being pretty long! Basically it's a youtuber AU where youtubers are heros-- And some are villians!

                Warfstache found himself perching over a small lion statue hanging off a tall building in the eerily quiet streets of L.A. He had found himself in a quiet, more suburban, impoverished area, eyes peering straight to this large rent-storage facility. Tiny Box Tim was sitting upon his shoulder, staring out with him. For the past few weeks, Warfstache had been working on a case, following this shady group of people he had figured ran their own, ‘small time gang’ since there weren’t many people, but their intentions were clearly shady. He waited, and waited, holding hope for when they would arrive. He looked to his watch which stated it was 11:58, they usually show up here around midnight, every night… Which, he was hoping they’d follow suit and show up again as expected. He stayed like that, with his growing pink hair gently waving in the soft night breeze, his black suit mostly concealing him, forbear the red and pink brandishing around his suit. Red suspenders and cape, with a white W letter on his chest with a pink mustache over it, with matching almost darker crimson boots on his feet. A nice black mask went over his eyes and tied itself in the back, but didn’t obscure his vision in anyway. Just helped hide some of his facial features.

                He stayed, until about a few minutes after midnight, he watched as a dark grey van wandered in the area. From there, multiple men piled out the van like a series of clowns, wearing black and brown leathers and one of them was even smoking a cigar. Wow, talk about stereotypical Italian mafia copycats, he had thought to himself. He quickly pushed himself out of thought however when he saw a young woman being dragged out the van. The tall, gruff looking man who was smoking the cigar grabbed her by her hair, and her arms tied behind her back. With Warfstache’s heightened vision, he made out what she looked like slightly; her eyes obscured so she wasn’t aware where she was. She had long black hair, with a single pale blonde streak. She was very pale, and from her muffled noises, very terrified. He waited a bit longer until he found an opening. Just as he got in a marathon type almost jump, he was broken out of concentration when a bright flash of green flickered before his eyes. Confused and disoriented, he stumbled backwards, almost tripping off the building.

                Once he had reconfigured his position, he watched as the blurry green flash busted the entire storage unit garage opening into shambles. Warfstache couldn’t help but be stuck in awe, not believing what his soft brown eyes had caught actually seeing. Then blurry thing had stopped and now he saw it was a person. He needed a closer look… Quietly, He snuck around until he was just near the place, hiding behind the parked van. The teenager-- No, man, the green flash had turned out to be, or maybe teenager… His height and voice were telling separate stories. He was rather short and had the facial hair of a 9th grader, but the voice of a grown man. Warfstache detected the hint of an accent, but it was obvious whatever it was, the guy was trying to disguise in his cheesy American accent. He must be foreign, also hiding his identity of course. Another hero? How strange… He knew there were other heroes in the city, but he had never met this one. Well he didn’t know the others very well besides like, these two guys who were already partnered together and probably didn’t need him as a third wheel hero tailing behind.

                The man had an interesting get-up… Definitely not any subtle colors that would fit in the dark, rather, neon vibrant colors on his garment that look for fit for a night club rave rather than a late night suit. Its main theme, clearly, was a neon green which was the base color. His torso was covered in a skintight shirt, probably spandex, going all the way up his neck in a turtleneck fashion. He had these long sleeves, but they did not over his shoulders, and they reached all the way to his middle finger and stopped up there. The pants were also a spandex green, and around his waist bore a yellow belt, with green lightning bolts decorating it. Cute, and fitting. He had these short, white boots with the same green bolts on the side. His entire outfit was laced in bright cyan blue, around his neck, arms, and this large portion around his hips and thighs. On the front of his suit, a weirdly placed green eyeball with a lightning shaped tale and blue pupil seemed to brandish him. He also had this bright green hair on top, the sides still a brown color, with a typical bandit type mask over his… Gorgeous blue eyes, and the white of his eyes were replaced with a nice green… What an odd and interesting take in a super hero costume, and his in general off-put.

“Oi! All of you guys are done for, and dear woman, I will save you!” Boomed the voice of the other man, and with that, he seemed to disappear. No wonder the flashy costume-- It was still easy to hide despite it, and it let a pretty colors trace behind him. Nice, thought Warfstache. Almost made him rethink his costume. But nah, he liked his own outfit, snapping back the pretty red gloves and feeling very Saitama-esque, one of his favorite heroes. Anyways, Warfstache went to focus back on the other man-- but all he saw was a blue of men being taken down, one after another. He stared in awe… He seemed amazed. But then he saw the girl that had been ‘captured’, suddenly smirk like wild. This was no kidnapping, was it? Warfstache jumped out to warn him, but when Warfstache flashed his eyes back to the green man, he was grabbed by one of the men and shoved against the wall, completely stopping his movement, squeezing his arms tightly as if he was going to rip them right off. But the green man seemed to be fighting back still! That was good, but he hadn’t even realized the ‘kidnapped’ girl had suddenly pinned him down to the ground now, rubbing his face into the gravel. “Guh--” He groaned out, feeling his face burn and eyes well.

“Well, well, two heroes in one night? I’d say that’s quite the record, Eh, Grump boy~?” The girl’s once sweet sounding voice and cries turning into a more twisted and demented accord of words stringed together. The one holding onto the green hero replied to her.

“Yes, darling~ this surely will be fun…~” He licked his lips with a tongue-guttural sound that did not sound human. Warfstache was now feeling a large snout and fangs against his back, realizing that these ‘people’ weren’t human either!! He took a deep breath, and then quickly, while they were getting ready for a feast, Warfstache bashed his head into the snout of the creature, knocking her off of him, and then he swiftly round kicked her in the skull. Turning his head to the green hero, he had also escaped, by shocking the other creature unconscious. Almost frying him most likely, because the creatures were clearly amphibian like, with crocodile like heads and over grown human-animal chimera type bodies. The female had grabbed at Warfstache’s leg, but he wasn’t ready to go down…! Then the green hero wrapped an arm around Warfstache’s hips, which caused him to fluster up, and zoomed off with his magnificent speed. Before Warfstache had realized, he had brought him all the way to the other side of town.

“Woah… Uh, thanks, man… Err… What’s your name?” Warfstache asked the man, getting a bit distracted by his bright, seemingly glowing eyes.

The other man had opened his mouth, but then suddenly seemed alerted by something. He shook his head and then disappeared. Warfstache wanted to follow, but the mans speed was basically untraceable. He sighed, scratching at his head. “Well, Mark, it’s time to head back to the dorm…” He sighed, and headed to the dormitories in the college where he studied and also resided. When he got to the place, he pressed a small button over his symbol and transformed back into his normal outfit, a plain plaid shirt with a Mario shirt under, and some faded, ripped jeans, along with the thin rimmed glasses on his face. He took a deep breath, and headed into the room, to find his roommate, Sean-- I mean, Jack, which he preferred to be called, pulling up his pajama pants.

“You just got home too, Mark?” Jack had asked, brushing his hair back with his hand. “Didn’t know you were the type to stay out late. Out with a cute girl?” He teased.

Mark rolled his eyes, tossing his phone and keys against his bunk and shaking his head. “Well you wouldn’t know because you’re always out with your girlfriend until like, 3, 4 in the morning half the time.” He sat on his bed, removing his jeans and getting under his covers. “And nah, I haven’t found any girl right for me yet. Guess you could say I was cruisin’ with no success,” He made a feigned sad face which made Jack laugh softly.

“Pfft, you’ll find someone, ya doof. What girl wouldn’t kiss the only Asian guy on campus? You know these girls are gettin’ off ta’ Asian guys nowadays. Now dye the pink to a bright blonde and you’ll be jus’ like one of their k-pop boys or whatevs’ these girls goin’ on ‘bout.” Jack went on his little spiel, which Mark shrugged, holding back laughter.

“Man, alright, alright, maybe I’ll find someone. But not just because they want me to be their token Asian boyfriend, dude. Besides, I’m fine with being in a relationship with only myself right now.” He laid down in his bed, getting comfortable now, just thinking. Hah, yeah, finding a cute girl, sure. Wonder how he’d manage that being head over heels with a guy he barely knows… Plus, his small thing for Jack, who’s been taken… He smacked himself mentally, and went back to looking over to Jack.

“Prolly for the betta’. Findin’ a good girl ain’t easy.” Jack climbed over to the top bunk and laid back now as well. “Well, night Mark.” He yawned, dozing off to sleep.

“Yeah,” He replied, “Night.”  

Morning finally set in, and Mark groaned and rolled over, staring at the floor which he was ready to just roll off onto and not get up. Ugh… Staying up late crime fighting is no fun… He gently brushed his hand against his face, to make sure his body had healed up that nasty deep scrape from having your face shoved into the ground, figuring it had since Jack didn’t comment on it last night, thankfully he had quick, rejuvenation from injuries. He was slightly invisible, but not in the Wolverine or Deadpool way… More like, he healed faster than normal. As for dying, he wasn’t sure, since he was never battled that close to death. Unless you count the amount of natural almost deaths he’s experienced, but that was different than death by injury. And besides, he hadn’t died any of those times either. So he wouldn’t know. He sighed and just sat up, turning off his phones alarm and heading off to the kitchen, where he found Jack already there.

“Mornin’, Mark.” Jack yawned, pushing a coffee cup on the counter. “Already made some. Figured ya’d need it, for that test ya got today.” He gave him a soft smile.

“Thanks,” Mark thanked him, and drank a big gulp of it. Both him and Jack liked coffee the same way, so he always knew Jack would know what he’d like. They both take coffee with the hazelnut delight creamer, and lots upon lots of sugar, really. Good waker up in the morning really. “Yo, when’s the last time ya shaved?”

Jack shrugged, “Eh, I thought I’d let it grow.”

Mark looked him over for a moment wondering if he was serious or not. “Really?”

“Yeah, why not?”

“Thought ya girlfriend didn’t like beards. Besides, you look barely pubescent with it comin’ out like that,” Mark walked over, patting his back softly.

“Eh, I can’t live one hundred percent by her. I’m still my own person.”

“I see that. Alright, you do your thing. Imma go shower, wash off all my sins before this big physics test that’s basically all my grade this semester. Rest in pieces to me.”

“Don’t die stressin’ too bad.” Jack offered some kind-of reassurance, “I know you’ll do well, smarty pants. Mister Engineer.”

“I got this in the bag! And by in the bag, I mean all my notes are in my bag which I’ll be binge studying right before it!!”

“That’s the spirit.”

Mark waved him off and went to shower. He then dried, dressed, and headed off for his test. He was really hoping this day would end soon and fast… He still couldn’t get that green man out of his head, just floating around him and holding him the way he did… Jeez, he wished he had known his name… Well… Maybe tonight he’ll see him again. For now, make sure not to flunk this test…!

The day passed by pretty smoothly, with the test being not as hard as he had first expected, though he sort of ended up bullshitting a lot of it and then running out to get a bite with Bob and Wade, at some local pizza place. Bob and Wade were Marks good friends, who were also attending his school. Since the school was big and covered mostly all areas of majors, they all could do what they liked at this school. Bob was studying law, and Wade was studying general topics, still undecided. They spent the afternoon after eating hanging over at Bob’s small place, since he lived off campus. Eventually, the topic of dating came up.

“Yeah, I’m actually thinking about proposing to my girlfriend soon,” Bob had mentioned on the topic, seeming a bit nervous and flustered thinking about it.

“You really love the girl that much, Bob? Aww, how cute!” Wade seemed happy for him.

Mark reached his hand over and placed it over Bob’s hand and smiled. “This is a big step. You sure you and her are ready for this? I mean you haven’t graduated yet.” Mark of course expressed slight concern for him.

“Yeah I realize, but… I just really think it’s the right time. We’ve been together since High school too, and you know how well those last. The fact we stayed together so long is just… Amazing, it must really mean something, you know?” Bob made this excited look, sighing softly to calm down the smile he made when thinking about it.

“You’re absolutely right. Don’t let her slip away from you, Bob.” Mark said, sitting back now in the couch. There was the quiet hum of the TV in the background, but they were too invested in their conversation together.

“So, Mark, Wade, you guys got any special girls?” Bob decides to flip the script, considering he had been talking about his girlfriend for the past hour. He usually never opened up about his relationship, only with Mark and Wade because they didn’t mind listening to his rambles. And Bob rarely rambled, so it was something they didn’t mind much, since it wasn’t often.

“Well, I’ve actually been talking to this pretty blonde girl whose studying management, she’s truly a sweet one. I been planning on asking her out, if I can take her out one night.” Wade decided to start, leaning forward. “Molly, her name is-- How pretty, is it not?” He smiled. “What about you Mark?”

Mark got a bit flustered immediately because the first one that popped in mind was that green hero he had been thinking about nonstop. He stopped himself. “Ahah! -- Ah, no one! I guess I’ve been too busy out catchin’ bad guys to bother myself in matters of the heart.” Mark had no problem talking about his superhero endeavors with Bob and Wade, since they were they only two that knew. He trusted more than anything. He had been thinking about telling Jack possibly-- But it never really comes up. He seemed to be too flustered to ever talk about it straight to Jack. Oh well… He probably wouldn’t care anyways.

“You sure it’s no one? You seemed a bit flustered, Mark,” Bob gave that odd, almost knowing like smirk to Mark, having noted how Mark acts when he has a crush at this point. “Wait, don’t tell me, you’re in love with another superhero you barely know. She’s gorgeous, strong, makes you swoon, and you don’t even know her name.”

“No! No no no,” Mark denied right away, face bursting in a reddish color.

“Ohh, I think you’re right on the money Bob, look at his face.” Wade laughed. “Of course you’d have a thing for a person like you. Having a relationship with a non-superhuman would probably be totally awkward.”

“I mean you’re right about the awkward part, but--” Mark sighed. “Fine. Yes, there’s this… Person I met last night, and they just… Fantasized me like no other.”

“So you’re finally over your roommate?” Wade butted in again,

“Hey hey! Enough with that! I was confused, hush.” Okay, well of course he wasn’t gonna let that go. “I just… I should probably be single for now and focus on crime fighting anyways. A partner would merely get in my way of trying to save this city. Even if they were also super or not.” Suddenly, His watch started going off, an alarm from Tiny Box Tim. “Oh jeez-- Speaking of which… Tim’s going off, and I gotta go.” He clicked a small button on his glasses rim and transformed smoothly. “Have fun with your smooches lovey dovey talk guys! See ya!” And with that he ran off to find out what could be happening this time…

He made his way to the front of a bank that was being held up. Oh, talk about common as all hell around here. Seriously, these guys love banks… Mark ran inside dressed in his Warfstache outfit, and stared out to the two men and a woman who were donned in all black, holding up the back, with guns and collecting money. Wow. Ski mask, too. How cliché can you get?

“You! Stop there!” One of the masked men yelled, grabbing a random bystander and holding them by the neck, holding the gun to his head. “I’ll shoot!” He yelled at Warfstache. Warfstache merely put his hands up, and analyzed the situation. He stared at the guns only to realize they were-- Fakes! Of course. People have a tendency to use fake guns that look real to trick innocent all the time. Warfstache smirked.

“Oh yeah? Shoot what, BB bullets? Blanks?” He laughed rather confidently. The robber looked rather nervous. A new timer, huh? Well, hopefully this will be easy. He headed quickly forward and knocked the knock-off gun out of his hand and helped the innocent down. While he wasn’t paying attention, he heard another booming voice yelling, “Watch out!!” And when he heard that, his instinct was to duct. And while that saved him from most certain death, he received large tears in his back from four large claws. These were no normal bank robbers, they were more chimeras! And they were appearing so rapid too! All three robbers transformed into these large, deformed lion like creatures.

Warfstache fell to the ground, back bleeding heavily. But through his vision, he peered up to notice it was the green hero! And he was the one that had warned him! He watched through half lidded eyes as he beat the crap out of these chimeras with his lightning fast speed, not with strength really, rather his lightning shocking attacks, like he was a small cloud of storm and rage off on these guys! Eventually they all fell, and the green hero came straight to Warfstache, and gently ran his fingers over the wound… He looked up to all the hostages and told them to leave, and that everything was alright. They all headed out safely. But the green hero stayed by Warfstache’s side, examining his wounds.

“I’m… Really sorry I didn’t come sooner…” The green hero’s voice was much softer than before. Warfstache could tell he was hiding an accent still, but it was much more calming and soothing his voice now. It would’ve made his heart flutter, if it weren’t already pounding heavy from the blood loss. He felt dizzy… “Let’s get you to a medic…” He gently started to help lift him, as Warfstache groaned deeply in pain.

“No, no, don’t… Move me…” He breathed softly. It took not much longer, but slowly his back started lacing together as his regeneration kicked in (it was rather slow for now,) and healed up his back now. The green hero looked confused, but also very relieved.

“Ah..! Tha’s a handy trick right thare!” The green hero chuckled. “Ah… Well I’m glad you’re okay.” The green hero gently helped lift Warfstache back to his feet, and Warfstache looked to him rather flustered.

“Yeah… They work slowly for bad things… And I can probably die, it just heals things that can be repaired naturally.” Warfstache shrugged, nervously laughing. “Err… I didn’t get your name before. Well, your hero name. I understand if you don’t wish to tell me your identity. My ‘name’ is Warfstache,” He held his hand out to him.

“Ah… Nice to meet you Warfstache. I go by SepticSpark meself.” He grabbed his hand, shaking it firmly. “Maybe we can work together more some time.”

“Sure! That would be, ah, really cool.”


	2. College Boy Blues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack spends time having inner turmoil while Mark is off doing god knows what anymore. What is it? He has no clue, because they haven't had time to talk face to face in a while, and he's not sure why. Slowly and slowly, though, does he find himself falling deeply for this Warfstache hero, and even learns some tidbits from his dear friend, Mr Danny Sexbang himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long! Well, now I've introduced Danny Sexbang and how he became a hero in all this! Blaque Cat is another character who was mentioned and will be introduced later-- Basically Kat Blaque, I know, so creative. I know she isnt a gamer youtuber but she is a youtuber that I enjoy to watch and will give her a little place in the story later!  
> Also, guys, on my tumblr, http://avialofpoison.tumblr.com/ , I've been posting my designs for mark and jack and others in the story, (jack and danny are the only ones finished-- ive been having trouble with drawing mark) (Jack: http://avialofpoison.tumblr.com/post/140977552161/avialofpoison-jackaboy-is-all-up-and-doodled ) (Danny: http://avialofpoison.tumblr.com/post/140977598636/avialofpoison-along-with-lizzie-i-managed-to ) if you wanna draw anything up like if you wanna help with super hero design ideas, just tag me on tumblr! (or twitter: shinypkmncecil) I'm more than willing to impliment others ideas if they would like! Well, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Jack laid in his bed, doing your stereotypical boy thing to do when you have a crush and conflicts in every aspect of your life, and go the movie kid thinking about his life route. He just was there, throwing the ball up and down, not too high, considering how close he was to the ceiling. Mark wasn’t here, so he could be as angsty and cliché as he wanted to be. He was thinking about that interesting hero he had met yesterday… ‘Warfstache,’ He called himself… Pfft, what a dorky ass name. But it was oddly cute. But Jack had a lot on his mind really… All the superhero stuff, meeting Warfstache, and his… Girlfriend issues. Or… There for lack of, girlfriend. He hadn’t talked to anyone about it at all really, because he didn’t really open up about it. He knew he needed to soon, no matter how upsetting it was… He couldn’t just bottle up forever… Or could he? He wanted to. He was just getting through this emotional turmoil, as well as his studies giving him so much to worry about, his brown hair had lots of grey streaks in it at this point, making him look older than he was. 

While tossing the ball up, the door suddenly thrashing open, causing Jack to drop the baseball and jump almost off the bed. “W-Woah!! What the hell ‘re ya doin’?!” Jack yelled, looking over the bed post to find Mark, out of breath, sweating, exhausted basically. “Are ya alright…?” He wondered, jumping down and looking to him. 

Mark was taking heavy breaths, and nodded to Jack silently. Then he responded, “Er... Yes! I’m fine. Just… Need a bath!! Yes!! Relax!! Ahah, don’t worry over me! I’m a-okay!” Mark ran off to the bathroom then. Jack looked a bit worried still, but decided not to pry, beside that would be creepy to bother him in the bath anyways. He shut the front door, and tossed his ball back onto the bed, and sighed. 

He listened as the water in the tub start, so he assumed Mark was just gonna take a bath. But now his mind was all wrapped up on what was wrong with him… He smacked himself mentally. You gotta stop acting like a Troy Bolton wannabe pretending you’re some movie protagonist, and you need to go and face your problems head on, not through silly child antics and loud overrated musical scenes in the school cafeteria, Jack had said to himself in his head. Yeah, Jack, you’re the best pep talker, he also told himself. Though how true that is, is, well, debatable. Considering he’s using high school musical rhetoric’s to himself like a teenage girl. Maybe he’d talk to Mark about it…? No, he didn’t want to annoy him anyways. He could talk to him at a later date anyways. Alright… Maybe… Augh, he’ll just find someone… 

Jack was gone now, and Mark had heard the door open and close again. He was breathing heavily still, feeling gross and sick… He was just waiting for the water to warm up so he could submerge himself into the hot, steaming bath… He then shut the drain as it became basically boiling, which he absolutely lavished, even though it always made his hands wrinkly, he found it funny. Finally he gathered himself to get undressed, movements lagging slowly. It was a bit hard to pull the shirt off… His back was still destroyed really, despite it being mostly healed, the backlash of pain still lingers. If only this regeneration thing wasn’t so lazing and slow and just as excruciating as the initial pain of the wound. After pulling off every article of clothing, he gladly climbed into the bath, and relaxed, feeling so great… 

As he laid there, he just let his mind wonder a while, and of course it immediately wondered straight off too… SepticSpark, he believed? Yeah, that word. What a weird hero name. However, it certainly was probably way cleverer than ‘Warfstache’… But hey, who cares. Warfstache sounds badass anyways. Yeah, definitely. …Yeah he could’ve probably made it sound cooler. Anyways! His had completely lost his train of thought until Septic’s face flashed in his mind again. “Oh… Right.” He felt his face fluster up. He knew the whole love at first sight thing was bullshit but he just really, really liked this other hero. There was such a terribly strong between them somehow. And there was a… Yes, this is going to sound punny, but, a spark between them already. FUCK that’s stupid. Ugh. You’re starting to sound like Wade, he thought… Too much time around him, clearly. Gotta keep a watch on that. 

Mark rolled his eyes and let himself submerge almost entirely into the hot water now embracing his entire body, except for his nose and eyes still above the water, breathing softly. Ever since his old hero partner had… Kicked the bucket, in lamest terms, he had dedicated himself to working alone. Like, a Mister Incredible type who hadn’t found his Elastic Girl yet. But now it dawned on him, that his Elastic Girl could be, first off, a male, and second off, a flash wannabe type green dude. Who would’ve thought? Not that he planned on settling down and having kids anytime soon, he was in his early 20s, and he highly doubted this other man would find him as alluring as Mark has found him. Well… They’ve only ever met twice now and talked once, but, let’s just see where this goes, whatever the stars decide for us. 

Back to dear old Jackaboy, he started heading on over to the one superhero whose identity he did know, but that’s only because everyone knew him. Waiting patiently at the front door, he stumbled around on his toes a bit, hands fumbling together. Then, the door swung outwards, almost hitting Jack from his distractions, and out came the tall, slim, curly brown haired man, and his tight arms almost squeezing the life out of dear Jack. “Jack! It’s so great of you to visit!” 

Jack had been pulled tightly into the arms of Danny Sexbang himself. Jack returned the hearty wholesome hold of Dannys, patting his back a few times. “It’s great to see ya again too!” Jack laughed softly. Danny let go and went ahead to guide him inside.  
Danny, like Jack, was also a superhero, but the reason he knew is because he was almost like a Tony Stark type of hero. He’s not the richest man in the world of course, but the analogy still stands. One day, Danny and Brian decided they were gonna pull a big publicity stunt. To promote their band, Ninja Sex Party, Danny and Brian got into their characters-- Which, respectively, were named Sexbang and Ninja Brian, and went out to stop some bank robbers. With probably extreme luck, they managed to stop the robbers and save the hostages, while promoting their band afterwards. But then, Danny found it very fun to do this really. He convinced Brian to continue doing this with him. Danny and Brian did this for a while until they accidently found themselves trapped as test subjects for a woman by the name of Blaque Cat. She was an extremely smart scientist, and had turned both Danny and Brian into super humans, of course, not her original intention, but that’s what happened. Brian became more ninja like, speed and quiet agility boosting way higher than the average person, something a normal human couldn’t achieve even with the best training. Danny, his body became… Goop? His ability was to transform himself into this goopy slimy and pink substance which he can reach extremely long distances, then to solidify it upon will, helpful for stopping people. So from then on they decided to make this their living-- Along with their band still, of course. 

Anyways, back to the main line of things, Danny knew every single superheroes secret identity, he was just skilled like that. So, Jack and him became friends through crime fighting, and met one day for real after Danny met him on the streets, recognizing him immediately. What a surprise, the only superhero who is smart enough to know a mask isn’t enough to really hide who you truly are. But maybe he was the only one who could do that. Oh well. We don’t question superhero logic here, no siree. Not my job, alright? Anyways. Jack was just happy to be close to him, because he was always good to listen and talk too, and Jack had idolized him for a long while before they were friends too, so this was just great for him. Well, now Jack really needs someone to talk to, and Danny was right there for him. “So, what’s been botherin’ ya, dude?” Danny asked, leaning back on the couch in his living room. 

Jack was still making his way over and he sat down beside him, giving him a half of a smile, guess his face made it way too obvious that he was having issues. “Ah, well, yanno. The nermal shit from day to day,” He shrugged. “Me bein’ a doof over my ex, and then being easily swooped off me feet for some random hero who I hadn’t even known would ever talk to me until last night.”

“Ah, you broke up with your ex girl? You had everyone thinkin’ ya were hanging out still.”

“Ya, I know, I couldn’t bring myself to tell anyone even though it’s been like, a couple months now.” 

“Shit, you got me feelin’ out of the loop here for not noticing. Rough man.” Danny reached to place a hand on his shoulder warmly, offering support in a way. “And you got yourself another already or what’s the issue there?”

“No, no, it’s ah,” Should he tell Danny? He’s sure he wouldn’t judge him for having a crush on a dude. His old best friend had affairs with dudes all the time, maybe it’s normal to him. Hopefully he won’t get to question-y over it. “This superhero who I finally met -- Who I ne’er dared the thought of us werkin’ as a team, just… Seemed to express interest werkin’ with me, and it’s thrown a dagger over my way with conflicted… Feelin’s, ya feel?” 

“Feelings ya feel, that’s the best line I’ve heard from you in a while.” Danny teased of course, snickering. “So you got yourself a crush over some superhero chic?”

“A g-guy actually,” He corrected, though he wished he hadn’t. 

“Oh! Hey hey, that’s cool, didn’t take ya for a bi guy, but hey, you never know. Who is it?”

“Ah… His heroes name Warfstache,” Jack informed him. 

By the expression Danny had handed over to Jack, he could easily assume that Danny was fully aware of who he was, even more so when he broke out into laughter. 

“H-Hey!! Why’re ye laughin’, dick?!” Jack broke out into defense. 

“No- Oh my god-- You would laugh if you knew-- Pfftttt... What-- What I knew, alright?” Danny could barely speak out, and Jack seemed to get annoyed more and more by the minute. 

“You know who he is, don’t’che?” Jack crossed his arms over his chest. Danny breathed heavily between his laughing and nodded, and eventually he calmed down, but he seemed still very giggly. 

“I’m sorry, heh, and you know I can’t tell you. That’d be a total violation of his privacy. But it’s just ironic.” 

“Why?” Jack tried to ignore how annoyed he was over Danny’s giggle fit in favor of his curiosity. 

“Because this guy is goddamn head over heels for ya, and I can’t even tell you who.” 

This seemed to stun Jack, and throw his face into a fluster of reddish pink color, but then he went back to his annoyance and suspicion. “How do I know yer not just pullin’ me leg here?” 

“I’m not! I mean, you don’t have to believe me, but really, he’s got a huge crush on ya. Not the hero you as far as I’m concerned-- But you, Jack. He talks about you nonstop to all of his friends I’ll let you know that much.” 

Jack was very shocked still, and all blushing. He still felt a doubt in his heart however, and just… Wished Danny would just tell him. “Ye know, you should tell me…”

“Ahah, sorry, but I don’t play love doctor no more. Besides, it’d be breakin’ his trust. I’m sorry Jack. That’s a mystery you have to unravel for yourself. Now…” He pulled himself up, went over to this giant pile of messy chaos by his TV and pulled out a single box-- A game box, “Wanna play some games to help ya blow off whatever other frustrations you got?” 

Jack shrugged. His mind was still flying and going crazy, so maybe they could just talk it out more over some video games because that sounds better than just sitting around. So that’s what they did. 

 

Back in the dorm, Mark was draining his bath, and now the wound on his back had finally settled to a smaller scar, which should fully heal within a day from now. Man, if only his shitty regen power could be faster and better. Like, Wolverine. Or Deadpool. Well, he was neither a hairy slice and dice x-men member nor a badass fourth wall breaking anti-hero with serious mental issues most likely, so he would just have to deal with how his powers work the way they are. He stepped back into the empty room with his towel around his waist, and plopped down in front of their small TV, and decided to get his mind off superhero stuff and SepticSpark for a while by wasting time with some video games. He pulled up Resident Evil 2, it could be helpful to clear his mind while killing some zombo’s in his way. 

Marks gameplay was cut short as the small, somehow animated and alive box hopped over to Mark, and nudged him. He paused the game and looked down to Tiny Box Tim, who, with his quiet voice, informed him that he had detected suspicious nearby activity. Mark nodded, though a bit exasperated, he got up and shut off the game, and went to the glasses on his face, and pressed a small button on the frames. With a small flash, he had quickly then been in his super hero outfit, lifted his little box friend, and hopped out the window, jumping to the other buildings roof, and headed off in the direction. 

Tiny box Tim had eventually led him to a large open mall area, where these two chimera creatures had busted out and started attacking mall goers. From speculation, over 20 injured people… And the police had a trouble getting in due to the panic ensued all over the area. Mark had found a way to jump down from above (He can’t fly, he’s just been hopping around with his super strength) and quickly tackled one of the monsters in the ground, feet digging into its head and shoving it into the cement. The cement underneath the creatures head shattered, but the creature merely pulled his head back up, took ahold of Mark by his ankles, and tossed him side into some surfer shop that smelled heavily of seawater and dead fish. 

Mark groaned pulling himself out of the rubble to collect himself, and gazed to the creatures. They were… Familiar… That’s right! They were the same creatures that had tricked him into some fake kidnapping scene. He could recognize their dark green scaly type skin, which was now scattered with deep brown marks, scarring both of them, which Mark could only assume was a result of SepticSpark’s lightning attack that had paralyzed them-- Apparently they hadn’t learned their lesson. Mark zoomed up head first into the taller ones chest, knocking him down into the ground right before the door of another small shop. The monster only laughed, rubbing a bit of blood trickling down from its large and terrifying jaws and gripped Mark tightly by both arms, even ripping into his Warfstache suit a bit. He shoved Mark into a brick wall, and Marks entire body jittered at the vibrations from the slam rushing through his body. 

The monster was then using one monstrous claw to hold him against a wall, and the other digging into his face, both hands holding Marks face towards him. Mark was now trapped in this position, trying to think of an easy way to maneuver out of this position when he got distracted by the creature’s hesitation. It’s large yellow-greenish lizard eyes seemed to… Morph, into a softer, caramel and then chocolate color, seeming more suddenly human. He wasn’t sure if his mind was playing tricks on him, or if something was really happening. Mark hadn’t realized his eyes starting to well. The stringy dirty hair that laid on top of the monsters head from his human form seemed fluffier, and laid out… It was a dark-ish kind of brown, with one piece of hair that seemed a different shade, but he was having trouble making it out as his eyes filled with what he didn’t even realize was tears until he was crying. Marks voice croaked out, “A-- A… Ar--“Suddenly, he was cut off by the presence of a bright green flash brushing right past him. SepticSpark…! He had shown up and shoved the creature off of Warfstache, and he found himself falling to the ground after being in the creatures hold. Why was he crying..? 

While Warfstache wiped his eyes and his heart raced like thousands of horses galloping over his poor chest, SepticSpark had knocked out the shorter more feminine monster, and was currently wrestling it out with the monster. Warfstache took a deep breath and quickly shoved all the just happened to another memory in the back of his head and away from this moment, and quickly headed over to SepticSpark. It appears the monsters had developed a slight immunity to Septic’s electric so the taller creature wasn’t passing out as it had last time and he was out of advantages. Warfstache quickly came into aid him and roundhouse kicked the creature sending him flying halfway across the open mall area into a water fountain, water bursting out from its destroyed pipes. The monster let out a loud angered screeching noise, and went straight for Warfstache. His claws reached out, so Warfstache retaliated by grabbing his large monster hands, and pushing him back. They seem to be trapped in a short tug of war situation, except they were shoving each other without any prevailing for the stronger of the two. 

As a cheap shot, the creature reached out its knee, and shot Warfstache flying high into the sky. SepticSpark gasped, and the gathered a large conjure of lightning cloud forbidding above the creatures. They seemed in shock, but they tried to ignore it and attack Septic. SepticSpark had smirked almost like a crazy man, as he opened his eyes they were a bright flashing neon green, and consistent bolts of light shot out all around the monsters, their terrible screams shaking the ground and airwaves along with the crashing thunder noises. Before they knew the outcome, the monsters had disappeared. Septic honestly doubted that would’ve killed them… Badly injure sure, but they must’ve escaped somehow. Suddenly, he remembered about Warfstache, and just in time too. Warfstache was moments from hitting the ground when SepticSpark had thrown himself out far and quickly caught him into his arms, and then laying down the man who was half-conscious. 

“Warfstache… Are you alright? Can you see me…?” SepticSpark asked. He still feigned some American accent most likely to hide his actual voice. He looked to Warfstache and gently ran his fingers through his hair as a sort of comforting attempt. 

Warfstache found everything bright and blurry, and he barely muttered a pathetic answer, “K… Kind of…” He took a deep breath, and smiled softly. “T-Thanks… For helping me out… Hah, I got… I got distracted back there…” He laughed, roughly though. He took a few moments to collect himself, looking up to the man who had propped his head up holding him. He sat up after a bit, and patted his shoulder.

“What distracted you…? You seemed in deep thought.” Septic pried. 

“He… Reminded me of an old friend. They’re chimeras though, so of course they’re partial humans who can manipulate form…That must’ve been all it was.” Warfstache chuckled nervously. 

Septic gave a small look of empathy, and then stood up. “Well, I’m glad yer alright,” He seemed to slip up a bit, being slightly embarrassed, his mind flashing back to what Danny had mentioned earlier. “I, uh-- I better get going…” He seemed in his thoughts now too. 

Warfstache got up after him, and stopped him. He pulled him into a quick hug and then let go. “You basically saved me there. So, thanks, again.” Warfstache then jumped up high. He seemed to fly almost, but Septic could see his was pushing himself off the ground up high with mere strength as he hopped away on rooftop again. 

SepticSpark blushed gently and just… Sighed, feeling his stomach get all butterfly like and turning around and stuff. Gee… He just used his quick speed to rush out of the area, deciding he should head home now for the night. He showed up right outside of the dormitory area and he hide between some trees. He placed both hands over his green gauge earrings, and pressed on them, using that as the button to transform quick to his normal jeans and casual blue zip up jacket and grey beanie, and then headed up to the dormitory and to his room. Seems Mark was still home, as he heard shuffling around in the kitchen, and a clank of pans when he opened the door. It sounded like he just toppled over the entire kitchen…!

He quickly headed in there, and found… Danny on the ground, shuffling to pick up the pan, strainer, and a few other items, thankfully none of it broken. “Danny?? What the actual fuck?!” Jack voiced, walking over to him. He had been expecting Mark… Well at least it’s not some stranger.

“Ah! Hey Jack!” Danny chuckled, placing things onto a counter. “Didn’t think you’d be home right away!” 

“What are ye doin’ in me home? Who even let ye in here, Mark isn’t even here!!” Jack seemed completely confused.

“I got an answer to all of those questions, my dear Jack!” He turned around with a smile, “I maaaay have borrowed Marks spare keys a few weeks ago when you both were visiting family to house sit and I never gave the keys back. Also, you seemed super odd when you left my house, so I decided to head on over and maybe make some food for ya to cheer you up! I know how you college students get so busy and stressed up and out of time and forget to eat, and I had nothing to do after you left, so may as well lend a hand.” Suddenly, there was a ringing sound of his phones alarm. “Oh! Foods ready,” Danny went over to the oven and pulled out some freshly cooked honey ham, and some cherry pie. “I made the ham-- The pie was curtesy of Brian, I don’t think I could make one as good as he can. Maybe it’s the whole PhD thing.” Danny joked of course, placing both things down. “I wanted Mark to be here too, but I guess you can at least save him some.”

Jack was flabbergasted by all this, and ended up forgetting to even speak, until Danny was done his whole spiel, and he laughed. “Wow… That’s really a way to cheer someone up…! Thanks. Also, I have no clue where Mark is… He’s spent the past few nights out really late. Sometimes doesn’t show up until morning…” 

“Maybe a lady friend,” Danny suggested. He knew it was very unlikely, knowing about Marks thing for Jack, but he was trying to be careful and not slip up his promise with Mark.

Jack merely shrugged at the idea “Well, whatever makes him happy.” He seemed to be struck with a pang of jealousy almost, that Danny picked up on, but decided not to tease him over it. That’d be way crossing the line over what he already has done. “Let’s just eat, and then I’m gonna get a loooooong nights of rest, trust me, I’m fekkin’ exhausted as all hell.” And with that, they ate together, and went to sleep, Danny too, who had crashed on the couch for the night.


	3. Gargoyles Disruption

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mark finds himself in Bobs apartment after passing out on the way home, and new discoveries of how the media has taken his and SepticSparks 'relationship' give him a shock-- As does it to Jack, who was strolling around town with Danny.   
> Their embarrassment is cut short by the attacks of creatures ready to ruthlessly destroy the whole town center.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not the fastest with updates, but I'm a senior in high school whose always super busy and trying to graduate lol;; If you wish to keep more updating you can follow my tumblr or twitter where I'll probably express some ideas and answer questions! I even have outfit references pages if youre interesting, ahah! http://avialofpoison.tumblr.com/ https://twitter.com/shinypkmncecil  
> also i may redo the last part of the chapter because i didnt realize how fast paced it seemed but i may not. we'll see.

Mark found himself the next morning, half drunk, laying in some bed. Not his bed. But it was indeed familiar. He glazed his groggy eyes to survey the area, and craned his neck out of an extremely uncomfortable position only for a shocking jolt of pain to shake his entire body, and more excruciating, the waves of intolerable banging aside Marks skull. It felt like his entire head was being squished into a garbage compacter that was broken, and just kept getting stuck. This was no fun. And he wasn’t exactly sure why he felt like he was awakening from a hangover. Mark knew he couldn’t drink, or… Well, things, that’s too complicated to get into at the moment. He decided to do a quick scan over his own body, and that soon answered all his questions. His body had been littered with bruises, scratches, but nothing too serious at all. He concluded most of his pains must be from mere muscle strain, which would make sense after being attacked by that chimera and being sent half into the atmosphere. 

The sheets on the weird bed smelled oddly familiar, filling his nostrils with the aroma of beer, tomato sauce, and… Sweat, gross… He was worried, but he seemed rather calm for a guy in excruciating pain in a possibly strangers house. But as a tall, stocky figure entered the room, he was even more relieved to be greeted by a familiar face. 

“Morning, dumbass.” His sarcastic voice peeled through the air, hurting Marks eardrums a bit, but Mark couldn’t hold back the smile when he saw him

“Ah… Hey, Bob…” Mark looked to him innocently and softly, “How did I end up here…?” He questioned him, trying to sit up, but he stopped as soon as he lifted his head only centimeters off the pillow, and dropped it back down. 

“Found ya walkin’ home, and you basically passed out in your dumb costume. You should be glad no one saw you transforming, you know how loud the news would be that some 20 year old in college was Warfstache? Not that the news isn’t talking about you heavily this morning, however.” Bob seemed to ramble a bit, Marks daze mind only catching bits and pieces of what he was saying. 

“I’m sorry, man. Thanks for taking me back here…” He offered him a bit of a pained smile, “And what do you mean the news is buzzing…? Was it about the chimera attack?”   
Bob seemed to be unable to control back quite snickering. “Oh boy, yeah, the chimera attack, and even more… I’ll let you see for yourself, and I’ll get ya some meds.” Bob flicked the TV on for Mark, and then headed off to his bathroom to get some stuff to help with Marks pain.

Mark laid his half lidded eyes to the TV, and watched the young blonde woman reporter go on and on about some random story, until, she changed pace and brought up Warfstache. 

“Last night at the Dradas Mills mall, there was a chimera siting. All throughout the past few weeks, these lizard human like creatures have been popping up left and right, and we haven’t gotten enough evidence whether they’re all individuals or if they’re just two same monsters for each appearance all over the L.A, San Francisco, Sacramento, Oakland, and Anaheim areas, and probably more that haven’t had survivors to tell the story.” The young lady spoke, flipping her bangs out of her face as she picked up speaking again. “Thankfully for our dear civilians, Mister Warfstache and an unnamed green hero had swooped in to save the day. Our lovable Warfstache tried his best, but the monsters seemed too gained more strength sending our poor Superman-esque hero of L.A. into the atmosphere, and most likely causing him multiple injuries. But, this new heart throb green hero swooped in, and helped out warding off the creatures.” 

“Heart throb, huh…” Mark repeated, seeming a bit skeptical of the news ladies choice of words, but he figured it was all scripted anyways. Besides, who wouldn’t fall for the small framed, blue eyed boy… Wait, what are you saying, Mark? He mentally slapped himself and regained his thought, and sighed. 

The door creaked and Bob reentered, handing a glass of orange juice and some pain medication from what Mark could presume. He took it, grateful for his friend’s hospitality. 

“Ohh, here comes the good part.” Bob chuckled, bringing Marks attention back to the woman on the screen. 

“We received many pictures of the scene from teenager and young adults on twitter who were at the scene, and this brought a cute, and even possibly scandalous scene to our attention.” The woman reported. Mark seemed uneasy, visibly shifting in the bed a bit. Pictures gathered on the screen, of him… And SepticSpark, as he held Mark up and close into his arms. Bob was chuckling, and Marks face turned a deep red. “Young woman have captioned these photos as a ‘gay romance’ between our two young heroes, feeling the close and tenderness words they shared, though we have no documentation of what was said, due to the loud noises also all around from the commotion of the people still trying to run off. Could these two be blooming into a superhero forbidden style romance? Could we all slowly watch these boys bloom to be the next superhero power couple since--” The woman’s words were cut off by Mark frantically shutting off the TV by the remote he took from Bob. 

“So you’ve moved on?” Bob sneered, playfully of course. 

Mark rolled his eyes. “I saved a bunch of people there, and they decide to focus on that one moment? Fangirls,” Mark scoffed, crossing his arms. He felt his strength regaining of course, so it became easier for him to move around easily. 

Bob shrugged, “Well, you are bisexual.”

“No! I’m straight. It was one exception, Bob. That’s all my old partner was.”

“Yeah yeah sure, tell that to all the random male crushes since him to now. And your roommate?” 

“GAAHH!” Mark threw his face into the pillows, seeming frustrated now. All Bob did was laugh at this almost pitiable sight. 

“I’m sorry, I’m joking with you, yanno. Don’t get too uppity, Mark.” 

He nodded, knowing he was just being over the top now. Sighing, he sat up and just seemed flustered. “I barely knew who SepticSpark is myself. But I guess they aren’t wrong. They could obviously see things I tried not to notice. But I don’t think I can ever get myself involved with another hero.” Mark seemed to withdraw himself now. 

Bob offered him a soft look of sympathy, knowing what he was referencing, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. “…You should move on one day. He would have wanted that, Mark. Besides, you and this green guy basically have the best power dynamic together since chocolate and peanut butter.” Bob tried to lighten up the heavy emotions that had clogged up the room, and it helped, even if only a little, causing Mark to smile out of the corner of his mouth. But he didn’t answer, just… thought. And Bob sat there, letting him do so, knowing this is how Mark held himself together. Besides, when the silence settled in between them, it was fine. A bit of a hectic morning, but maybe things will calm. Hopefully his roommate won’t be worried over him or anything. 

Back in the dorm, Jack woke up that morning, also walking up with the negative feedback on his muscles from yesterday. When he goes all lightening green eyes weird, it causes lots of strain on his body, most probably for the next few days. Ramming roughly into some tough scaled monster also doesn’t help. Oh well. He sloppily dragged himself up, scratching his head and peering around. He heard snoring, and it wasn’t his, and he doesn’t see Mark, did he even come back? He shrugged and then he remembered Danny was still here as he found him snoring on the couch. Jack laughed gently, and pulled the blanket he had offered Danny last night over him more, since it had been falling off. It’s early Sunday morning, and he had class tomorrow, so he probably should get prepped for the day, and at least take a shower, to help out his aching muscles… Afterwards, he should call up Mark to see if he’s alright… Yeah. 

Jack made his way to the bathroom hopped in the shower, feeling the hot water hit his back and help loosen up his muscles. He like to stretch in the shower, giving him a sense of peace, and helped his pains. As he washed his brown hair littered with grey streaks, he sort of stood there just thinking quietly to himself. On one hand he was thinking about hero stuff to do, and on the other, he couldn’t help but worry for Mark. What if he died in an alley on his way home? What if he was kidnapped? Car accident? Was he in the hospital like the ticking time bomb he is???? …Okay, Jack, you’re getting a bit over your head here now. Didn’t you learn that negative thinking like that was bad in some random Psych 101 class you took last year for whatever reason you can’t remember? Eh. He cleared out his head and decided to hum along some random NSP tune that fluttered through his mind instead, finish washing up, and then get dressed before Dan wakes up. He’ll probably want to go out and do some stuff today too, since on Tuesday Dan’s actually leaving L.A. for a bit of travelling with Brian and TDP.

Dan didn’t wake up until a little later, an hour some later more specifically. He pulled himself up from the couch, and looked about for Jack. “Hey, Jack?” Dan called out, being confused as he didn’t see him anywhere. He dragged himself off the couch in a lazy way and started walking around the dorm room and he kept searching for Jack until he was interrupted by the door suddenly opening. Was it Mark? He quickly headed over only to find that Jack was there. “Hah? When did you leave…?” 

“Oh! Sorry. I hadn’t left, I was jus’ throwin’ some trash out. Didn’t mean ta alarm ya.” He yawned rather audibly, shutting the door behind him.

“Any sign of Mark?” Dan asked, heading over to Jacks kitchen and grabbing a soda. 

Jack shook his head. Mark hadn’t answered his phone, messages, or anything of the sort… He looked over to Dan, and chuckled at his choice of beverage. “Truly the breakfast o’ champions.” 

Dan rolled his eyes, “Eh, I’m not in a coffee mood but I need caffeine. Let a guy live, aight?” 

Jack shrugged. “Hey, no judgement here. I use’ta down tea with hells of loads of sugar every morning.”

“No wonder you act like you’re on crack half the time.”

“Oh screw you!” Jack stifled a laugh, relaxing against the wall, just enjoying their idle morning talk.  
It had been a peaceful morning besides the worry in the air for their friend Mark, but he would probably show up some time later. They spent the morning making jokes, eating cheap cereal and just bantering over projects they were working on, Dan with a new song he was releasing while travelling, and Jack was actually working setting up a vlog, because he was normally very secluded, he wanted to share his joy with people, and work on his confidence, especially if he was gonna keep up the whole hero act of course. Dan and all the other heroes he had met just… Always seemed to seep confidence and virtue from every pore, and it made Jack a bit jealous. Not in a bad way, but in an aspired fashion. 

After a while they decided to pick up their conversation elsewhere, and just hang out somewhere. They eventually decided on a shop plaza, filled with tourist, good shops and food places, and a generally good place if you just wanted to hang out in the pretty area. So they headed off, and pondered around the plaza a bit. Visiting Yankee Candle, some clothing shops like Aeropostle, Men’s Warehouse, and so on. There was some store at the end of the plaza that displayed a small gallery with things for sale, so they thought they’d browse the stuff they had there, with lots of features of superhero wallpapers and statues, classic cartoon paintings, and other admirable pieces. As they’re walking over to this big Mickey and Minnie Mouse painting, they overheard some young girls in the store, who seemed to be gushing about their ‘OTP’s. One of them even mentioned… Warfstache? While Dan was distracted, Jack decided to look over at do some research, without straight up bothering them.

“Oh lorddddd, Juyzu, I think I’m head over heels for Warfstache…! He’s so admirable, and cute, and that colored hair, man… Only if I knew boys with that type of confidence and cuteness…!!” The blonde one with purple haired tips squealed at a rather loud pitch. 

The short white haired one, which Jack figured was a wig by the way it looked, grabbed her friends hands. “YES! Oh god yes! And then him and that green boy that saved the mall together… They’re like, my biggest OTP, Cyan…!” She smiled widely. They both seemed to gush back and forth. Jack, having heard enough, wandered back over to Dan awkwardly, his face a deep red color. 

“…? Jack? You alright, man?” Dan asked, quickly picking up on the flustered face and weird awkwardness spreading over the room. 

"Do…” He started formulating his sentence rather slow, “Do people… Think me and Warfstache are…?” Jack seemed to be unable to finish what he was saying.

Dan shrugged, “Ohhh, that. I read about it after you fell asleep. Didn’t want to bother you, but that scene ya’ll pulled at the mall has flocked so many fangirls already.” He laughed. 

Jack only managed to blush even deeper.   
Jack stared at the ground. He wasn’t sad, or angry, or any of that. He was just extremely confuse. And embarrassed. I mean maybe he did have a thing for the pink haired mysterious man, but why was he even being subjected to the eyes of all these people…? Did he make it too obvious? Did Warfstache like him, too? Oh god. No. Jack, you’re letting a few people and pictures get to your head. He sighed. He grabbed Dan’s arm. “Wanna grab a bite at that Mexican place?” Jack smiled, trying to bring his energy back up, though he still seemed awkward. 

“Yeah, alright!” Dan agreed, locking his arm in Jacks. 

At this time, they headed over to Mexican restaurant, and since it was a multifloored building with multiple other shops, they headed up to the fourth floor, just to get to the restaurant, not that they minded. It was one of their favourite places to go together, and they had goddamn bacon beef tacos. Who would deny that? Everything seemed to go fine, until a single gunner lifted his small pistol in the air and started shooting, sending the entire building full of people into shock. Dan and Jack looked to each other, knowing what to do. But they had to get somewhere they could transform, and that was hard… Well, at least Jack had to hide, Dan could just transform and be fine. Dan ran off and Jack tried to follow, but merely got lost in the crowd. Maybe he could just quickly fight him off, until he noticed at least 6 other gunmen. But no one was getting shot. At least, until some child who was oblivious and confused pondered over to one of the men. The man smirked broadly, and suddenly his body mutated into a disgusting scaly, slimy, feathery combination of dear fucking god who even knows? Not Jack. He watched Gargoyle wings spring out of its back. The other 6 had also transformed into various different forms of the creature but all with similar wings. The beast lifted his leg and as soon as it got close to the young girl, Jack zoomed and grabbed her to safety, making sure no one else could see him doing so, but he still wasn’t safe to transform yet… Finally he found an empty area, and started running off in that same direction until he felt himself grabbed by the clawed feet of one of them. Struggling to break free, he tried shocking it, but it seemed unaffected. Jack found himself then being brought through the window and lifted way high into the sky, perhaps almost 8 stories high…! This was not good, this was a dilemma…! 

Dan was making sure people out of the building safety, and peered up into the sky once he heard his Irish friend’s screams of agony. Then, a sudden drop. Oh god. Oh god, Jack was falling out of the sky at tremendous speeds. This was fucking insanity. He raised his goo arm up trying to reach out-- When suddenly another man peered out the sky and swooped Jack up gently into his arms. Jack had his eyes squeezed shut, but he noticed he was falling at a slower, more careful rate, and his was being held tight. When he managed to open his eyes, he found that the mysterious savior was… 

“Warfstache…!” Jack’s face flustered, watching Warfstache hopping down from building to building climbing downwards, carefully, since he couldn’t really fly. 

“You’re safe now, J--I mean, young man!” Warfstache let out a loud, but obviously nervous laugh. He got to the ground and gently placed him down to the ground. He looked to him awkwardly for a moment, and then just smirked. He ruffled up Jacks hair, and waved him off. “I will take care of this!” Warfstache hopped up almost like a bunny and went after the creatures. Jack was left behind, his face flushed, and really embarrassed. Oh jeez… If only he knew who he was. He ran off now to find a safe spot, so he could help him out, along with Dan as well. He placed ahold of his gauges and transformed in an empty shop, and then quickly headed out.

The scene was a mess. The gargoyle type creatures had made one building entirely collapse, injured bodies being escorted out by Danny, and Warfstache in a head to head collision with what seemed to be their leader-- This conclusion could only be brought to Jack by the way he looked-- The creature was the largest, with a smug ass face, and multiple scars on his face. Tough guy of course. And they all were following him around, so that also drew his thought. He wanted to help Warfstache, who seemed to be matched out strength wise, but he figured it would be smarter to pay attention to the smaller ones who were attempting to interfere. This would leave the probably boss guy at a disadvantage. Jack zipped up leaving a trail of green lightning wherever he maneuvered, but it helped because it left behind a sort of shadow of him confusing the bad guys. Like a shadow technique. While heading up to Warfstache’s direction, he quickly roundhouse kicked a smaller gargoyle targeting Warfstache’s back, knocking the creature far off. He then watched the surrounding ones and did his best to shock each one to a heavy state of paralysis. 

Though most of them dropped, there were the few that were able to move again. He figured they were mostly trained to withstand paralysis tactics. Well, time to pull off some straight up fighting one v one. He hopped quickly at one, pounding it down with a lightning quick series of punches. While his strength wasn’t as high as Warfstache’s, his mere agility and speed helped him keep up to pack almost as strong as a punch, just a bit more effort. But since he had a lot of stamina, it didn’t take too much off his energy. Just after that he had been jumped on by another, and dropped face first into the concrete ground of the half destroyed department building. He muttered out a curse as he felt the creature try to crush him with brute strength when suddenly the creature’s weight was completely lifted off him. 

Danny had returned to save Jack, tackling the creature into the shambling wall, with this weird pink goo which he solidified a tight grip around the creature. It tried to escape but was trapped. Jack took this opportunity to zip quickly and knock it out with another barrage of punches. Danny withdrew his arm and let the creature limply drop. Jack headed over and high fived Danny, and then they both directed their attention to Warfstache and the boss type guy. Warfstache currently held the gargoyle over his head, and tossed it to slam into a water fountain in the middle of the plaza. It made a small dent in the ground, and Warfstache jumped off from the building ledge he stood on and spun like a power drill straight into the Gargoyles back. It coughed out a decent amount of blood, but managed to grab ahold of Warfstache’s ankle and toss him through a stores window. 

“Should we help him?” Jack asked. 

Danny shook his head. “Nah. I want to see who can reign on top, considering they’re almost matched up strength wise.” He smirked.

“Danny, this isn’t some sort of game! He’s going to get hurt bad…” Jack tensed up at how Danny had worded himself, looking worried to Warfstache, who was pulling himself out of the rubble only for the Gargoyle to burst in and whap him upside the head with the sharp side of his wing. Jack started to move, but Danny grabbed him. 

“Look I know you’re head over heels for your man crush, but I think he’s got this. Wouldn’t be fair to interfere.” 

Jack stared out to him, but turned back to Danny. “Why are you acting like this?”

“He thinks he’s protecting you from the one who attacked you. You know, the Jack you.” Danny chuckled. 

Jack face flustered. That was the one that had attacked him, but was Danny really… saying he was fighting him the best he could for him? Of course to save others too, but he did seem to be exerting more effort than usual… Did Danny really mean it was meant for the real him? Who could he really be?! “So… That’s your excuse as to not help him? That’s insane, even if it is true.” Jack shook Danny’s grip off him, deciding to test what he was saying. He zipped off to help but Warfstache, indeed, hold a hand up, warning him to stop.

“I… I got this, Septic…” Warfstache muttered, breathing a bit heavily. He wiped the blood trickling from his nose, and blasting off a rough punch to the Gargoyles face, knocking him back giving Warfstache a couple seconds to recover. “Go!” He said to Jack. Jack stared in a bit of disbelief, but he went ahead and backed off. 

“I can’t just watch this,” He told Danny, looking off away from the battle. 

“Well you gotta realize he’s a prideful guy. Once someone he cares about that much is attacked, it’s straight up his business and his business alone. Stubborn too he is.” Danny laughed rather heartily. 

The battle continued. The Gargoyle was still up after that knock back punch, and jumped wings spread out wide straight at Warfstache. He took this as an opening and attacked his wings, managing to rip them both, crippling the Gargoyle. Taken aback by its wings being destroyed, Warfstache got himself the ability to deal a blow to the back of his neck, but not before the Gargoyle shoved a kick at Warfstache’s gut. With that double blow, the Gargoyle was knocked out, and Warfstache was shoved down, clenching his bleeding gut from the Gargoyles claws. Danny went over to the Gargoyle to detain him before he could get up again, and SepticSpark zipped over to Warfstache, grabbing him. 

“Fuck-- Ah, I’ll be fine… Sorry… For yelling at you like that,” He chuckled, his wounds already slowly lacing themselves together. Warfstache’s head was still pounding from this morning, and felt a bit dizzy now. 

SepticSpark sighed. “It’s okay… You really need to be careful, you know? Always getting yourself hurt… Can’t always rely on regen.” 

“I know,” He breathed softly, sitting up now, scratching the back of his head. “I got… Hotheaded. Trying to prove myself. Guy was a complete jerk too, no conscious for the people he was hurting.” Warfstache stood up after a few minutes, and they seemed to end up just talking for a few moments before Danny returned. 

“Hey, losers in spandex, we gotta get the rest of these Gargoyles apprehended. You gonna help you babble on about gay shit forever?” Danny teased, lifting up one of the knocked out creatures. 

“Shush, Sexbang, we got it.” Warfstache chuckled, helping him out. They all headed out afterwards to get the creatures taken in, and now stood outside the police station, making idle talk for a while until some publicity started gathering around the station. 

“Seems were forming a crowd here…” Septic muttered, looking around to the groups of people with cameras and crew getting close. 

Warfstache nodded, “Well that’s my cue to head off. I have some boring normal stuff to do now, and my guts still killing me.” He laughed. He patted SepticSpark’s shoulder and smiled to both Danny and him. “I’ll see you guys another time.” He waved off and headed out. 

“I guess I might as well head back to my dorm too… Sorry that our hanging out got cut short by an attack like that.”

“Well it’s not like it’s something we could’ve controlled anyways, Jack. Besides you got to see your boyfriend, lover boy.”

“Hey! Don’t call him that!” 

“Yeah yeah, whatever you say. Adios!” And Danny headed off. Jack sighed. He quickly found a small secluded alley down the cities street and changed with a flash to his everyday clothes and walked off back to his dorms. He examined himself, noticing he was slightly injured… Hopefully it wouldn’t spark anyone’s suspicion, considering he was at the event… And Warfstache had caught him from falling, too, so… that could be his cover… He was sure someone took video knowing people nowadays. 

Back at his dorm, he was alone. Odd. “Mark?” He called out, peering around the empty space. No answer. Weird… Probably still with whatever friend he was with the night before. He wondered about him, but didn’t waste too much time on it. Maybe he was studying for some big test. Jack went ahead to wind down dabble in some games to help relax after all that fighting. Oh, and here comes back that pain from earlier too... All that adrenaline made him forget until now... How fantastic.


	4. Will this be our Okay?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warfstache is having trouble dreams of either horror or his past. What do they have in common? Then, Warfstache and Jack get some well deserved time together, and two new heroes make a show!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What, there is no tfios reference in ba sing se, //shot  
> I'm a loser ik. Anywaaaaaaaays, I heard ya'll wanted more gay moments. Here they are. Maybe eventually you'll find out who this boy in his dreams are though. May be a shocker ;0

There’s a small tickling, familiar feeling of the man’s moustache gently grazing against the skin of Marks neck. His mouth formulates a loving smile, leaning his head back as the man reached his arms behind Mark to hold him closer, most intimately. A low moan rose from Mark’s throat as he felt the bigger man’s warm hand slide up under his shirt, causing his whole body to shiver at the sweet way he moved his hands over Marks skin, ever curve, scar, little here’s and there’s up Marks back, giving it a unique shape.   
“You’re getting so excited, I’m barely touching you…~” He muttered against Marks neck, he made another soft noise feeling his breathe down his tender neck. 

Mark wrapped his arms around the man again, one around his shoulder, the other getting lost in the man’s shoulder length brunette hair. “I have no self-control when you’ve around…” Mark answered, his eyes half open, needing more… 

Then without warning, the warm nice touches Trans morphed into claws, puncturing Marks skin all over his body. He screamed in agony, or at least, he tried to, but no sound was made. Nothing but excruciating pain. 

Suddenly he shot up, perfectly safe in his bed. He breathed heavily, gasping as if someone tried to suffocate him in his sleep. Why was he dreaming about him again…? He didn’t need this turmoil again, it was such bullshit that it was happening now of all times. The whole part of him tearing him limb from limb was new though… God knows what that could even mean. He peered out over the bed to notice Jack walking over, two coffees in hand, looking concerned. 

“Yo Mark, ye were tossin’ in yer sleep…” Jack mentioned, offering him a coffee. “I don’t know when ya got home last night, but when I woke, you were spazzin in yer bed, but I didn’t want to be a bother…” He then sipped on his own coffee, mentally noting the beads of sweat and panic induced breathing affecting Mark.  
Mark accepted the coffee, and looked to him with a sigh. “Ah… Forgive me, it was just a bad dream… They happen and shock you, you know?” He chuckled, nervously, trying to regulate his breathing. "Sorta brought up the past, I hate nightmares like that.” 

“Boy do I know that feelin’,” Jack laughed lightly, leaning against the metal bed post. “Sorry ‘bout that. Don’t gotta talk about it if ye don’t want to,” He yawned, hoping the coffee will wake him up more… “When did ya even get home? Ye’ve been getting’ home later and later, can’t help but wonder…” Jack mentioned, though it’s not like he’s been getting back to the dorm much earlier either, with all the late night crime going on.

“Oh, I, er,” Mark had to think fast, didn’t need Jack to find a way to discover his hero persona… “I’ve been, seeing someone.” Dammit! Why that lie, Mark?! You already let him think you were getting some only a few days ago, and now you’re digging the hole deeper and deeper, and then he’ll ask to meet this person, find out you’re lying and discover your identity…! ...Oh god, he was acting extremely paranoid. He took one deep breath, and scratched the back of his neck. “Ah, it’s nothing serious… Don’t think they’re more than a short fling anyways… I need to be focusing on studies anyways,” 

Jack shrugged, “Hey, take a break from the constant studying and maybe see if this chick really wants ta’ be serious ‘bout cha, you never know.” Jack downed the rest of his coffee and set the cup aside, “How many times do you need the follow yer heart pep talk?” 

God, Mark felt bad for lying. But at least it’s the only thing he does lie about, just for the sake of his identity. He did care so much for Jack, and trusted him as much as he trusted Bob and Wade-- But he always got too nervous to fess it up. Bob and Wade only know because they had watched him go from his normal self to hero by mistake once, when he had to quickly save them when they all got stuck in the midst of a crumbling building. “Eh, don’t worry about me. I got everything under control. My plans are not gonna be sidetracked.”

“Alright, alright, ahah.” Jack smiled, “I get cha. My minds on the same path in a way. I want ta achieve my goals before fallin’ too serious.” He regained balance on his own two feet again, looking around. “Well, I’m gonna head out in a few minutes. I got class.” Jack seemed to groan a bit at the thought of class since it was one he particularly didn’t enjoy. He grabbed his coffee mug so he could wash it out. 

“Good luck, man.” Mark stretched out his back and then took another drink of his coffee. He remembered he also had class today, and didn’t like remembering. It was a later class, but he was still really tired from last night. He had gotten home late because he took a different route, visiting the house of his old friend. It seemed empty and sad. It was also most likely what caused that dream… Would make the most sense. 

-

“Whaaaaat? You have powers too??” The boy’s voice rang a bit louder than normal. The younger one of the two quickly covered his mouth with his hands. 

“Shhhhhh!!!! Yes, but you can’t say it that loud!” The younger one exclaimed it a loud whisper. “People will think were… You know,” He had a sad look in his gentle brown eyes.   
The older one looked a bit upset and wrapped his arms around the younger one, nuzzling his soft face into his neck, trying to comfort him. “Yeah, I know what they can be like. Can I see what you can do, though? I’ll show you mine afterwards!” 

“Oh… Yeah, sure!” The younger one rushed to the living room of his house, and quickly peered around to see if his parents were looking. Then he grabbed the couch with one arm, and lifted it over his head. “Look! I think I had super strength or something! A bit like Superman, or Goku! Isn’t that rad?!” 

The older one stared in shock. “That is nice! Mines totally different, though.” He held out his hands, and they became these lizard like claws, and then he put them away. “See?”

“Woah…! You’re making me a bit jealous…” 

“You’re the one lifting heavy objects 100x your size! I can only make claws.”

“I think it’s amazing. Hey, do you want to make superhero outfits together? We can be super cool heroes to save the day!”

“YES!! My names gonna be raptor, I’m gonna be dressed as a dinosaur hero!” 

“Hm… I’ll be stacheman then!” The younger one pulled out a fake pink mustache he had made in class the day before. “Nice, right?” 

“Raptor and Stacheman… We’ll be the best super hero duo forever!”

“Yeah! Forever!” 

\--

Mark jerked awake in his class, his teacher standing over him. The classroom was empty, and Mark had been drooling slightly at the mouth… How embarrassing. He wiped his mouth and looked up to the teacher with a small smile. “Um… Afternoon, Mister Kjellberg…” 

“Fischbach, I need to head home right now. Please leave so I can lock up the classroom.” The teacher said. He was actually very kind, but after class he could be a bit of a grouch. Though Mark would consider him his friend, since they play online game together after school.

“Yessir.” Mark pulled himself up, wiping the desk, a bit flustered, holding his bag, and heading out. How embarrassing… And that dream… Why was he dreaming of his childhood? Odd…

As he left the class, the first thing he witnessed was a-- Holy shit, there was a student standing on the roof of the building. And they didn’t seem to be there for fun. Every student in the courtyard was freaking out, and teachers had already informed the proper authorities. Mark tried to recognize them- It seemed to be a girl, probably a freshmen student. Marks never seen her before. But this was terrifying. He figured he could change to Warfstache real quick-- Before he could find a place to hide, the girl started to fall. He headed straight for under her, but was shoved aside from, surprisingly, a boy of a much smaller figure than his. The girl was caught in this trampoline type device that came out of his oddly shaped backpack. Gently, he lowered it and the girl was safe on her two feet. A group of girls and a few guys, presumably her friends, quickly made their way over to the girl to make sure she was okay. 

“Woo… Close one,” The boy chuckled, brown eyes looking upon the scene and his British accent protruding loudly. He wore a body suit type outfit, all black with a zipper down the chest and some designs Mark didn’t understand. 

A group of other students crowded around the British man, asking an onslaught of questions, who are you, why are you here, and a few girl seeming to fall in love at first site. The guy chuckled, seeming to slowly back away from the attention until he was gone. Mark decided to follow him, and found him behind the school. “Hey kid, who are you?” Mark asked, referring to him as a kid, probably because he seemed much younger than himself…

“I’m no kid!” He got defensive. “I’m 24!” He then sighed.

“Okay… But where did you come from? How’d you even do that?” Mark seemed curious.\

Dan scratched his neck, “Questions, questions! You’re bombarding me,” He backed away.

“Oh… Sorry. My names Mark, I just thought what you did was really nice back there.”

“Howell. Dan Howell.” Dan tried to sound cool. Probably trying to sound like Bond. He had the British accent for it, but the suaveness just wasn’t there. “Or you can call me Dan Is Not on Fire! I go to this school and study robotics with my friend Phil, so we built machines to do superhero stuff because we know there’s a lot of stuff not all heroes can get to.” Dan seemed proud of himself. Really opened up when he wasn’t getting attacked by so many people.

“Ah. Well, that was cool of you. I’ll see you around, mister hero.” Mark chuckled, decided that was enough he needed to know. A hero type, huh? It was good more people wanted to be heroic, but that meant he should see what he does aside from helping suicidal girls from buildings. Especially with the corrupt “heroes” this town can bring.   
So he was off, back in his dorm and relaxin when he got a message from Jack, who wasn’t in the dorm like normal.

Jack: Maaaaark!   
J: I’m at Jets Pizzeria with Danny and Wade! Come meet us up.  
Mark: Yeah, sure.

Ah, they were getting lunch. His stomach was starting to growl right now anyways… He headed off to the pizzeria and met them up. They already ordered two large pizzas, and they were all eating and enjoying hanging out.

And just as peacefully their lunch started, just as abruptly it were to end. Sudden, there were more goddamn chimera creatures! There seemed to be a large pattern of their appearances, and they just loved to follow the heroes around… But they were the same chimeras that were in the garage, and the mall, and now here. Who the hell even were these guys? Their appearance toppled down the top floor of a bank right by the pizzeria. How cliché, hitting a goddamn bank. What would creatures even buy????

Danny was the first to get up, and transform out there. Wade, Jack, and Mark all separated from each other. Wade was legit running away, Mark and Jack both pretended to be scared so they could change in private. Mark went and then hopped out at Warfstache, ready to take this damn chimera down once and for all. 

Jack was heading to change as well when Wade headed in his direction. “Wade?! What are you doing??” Jack seemed shocked that he had been following him.

“Strength in numbers!! We can run away together and it’s safer!” That seemed to be Wade’s idea. With Wade following Jack, he couldn’t change unless he could get Wade off from him… But that wouldn’t be the case, as when they were running, the female chimera hoped in front of him. 

She smirked, raising her large claws to trample them- Then, Warfstache hopped in, knocking the chimera off her feet. Warfstache looked back to Jack and Wade. “I hope you guys are alright. Now get out of here, okay?” He turned back to the chimera. 

Jack didn’t notice but his face started to fluster. “No time for blushing! We need to go, now, Jack!” Wade said, grabbing him and dragging him basically. 

Warfstache kept trying to keep her down, but she would not stop fighting. The chimera continued to follow Jack and Wade, as it seemed to provoke Warfstache, and she enjoyed the angry reaction of challenge. The chimera tackled Jack to the ground.

He yelled for help, hating to feel like a damsel in distress, but he didn’t want his identity blown…! 

Warfstache roundhouse kicked the chimera off, then another hero showed up, to help! She had long purple hair, and a pink and purple faded outfit, kitty claws and ears, a collar, and a sort of total sailor moon aesthetic to her. He pinned the chimera down and started beating it, trying to keep it down and she was doing well… Warfstache decided to take this break to make sure Jack was okay. He ran over, on his knees and holding Jack up by his head, “Are you okay…?” Mark asked him, petting the back of his head softly. 

Jack flustered softly, staring up at Warfstache. He had suffered a few wounds to his wrist, but they didn’t seem to be anything major. “I… I’m fine, Warfstache…” He was bleeding and scratched up though… Warfstache looked over to Wade. 

“Do you know how to take care of him?” Mark knew that Wade had some experience in first aid classes. He nodded, and then came to cover up his wounds. Warfstache gave Jack a small smile. “IS meeting like this going to be our okay or what?” He laughed a bit at his own reference, and Jack only flustered again.

“Maybe it is.” Jack replied, holding his arm up for Wade to cover his wound with some bandages he held on him. 

“Ah… Well, I have to get back,” He got up and rushed to help the lady hero. She had gotten the chimera unconscious, she was shockingly strong.

“Nice one.” Warfstache said. 

“Thanks. The names LD Shadow Lady.” She smirked, shaking his hand. “We should help Danny.” She mentioned, looking over to the battle. 

Warfstache nodded. “You go. I’ll lock this one up and be there in a moment.”

LD ran over and began to assist Danny in fighting the other chimera. Warfstache locked the Chimera in some special handcuffs he held, nearly indestructible. He couldn’t even destroy them. What kind of metal it was, he wasn’t sure, he just knew it was tough as all hell. He then rushed to help both of them. 

It didn’t take long for three of them to roundabout about and shove him into the ground, knocking him out, and putting cuffs on him. 

Danny grabbed both of them with his goo arms, and lifted them up. “I’ll find the proper way to lock ‘em up. You guys head home for the day, alright?” He smiled, heading off. 

LD headed off home, and Mark headed out behind the pizzeria. He was sitting there, catching his breath when Jack came over to him, sitting next to him. “Hey.” Jack greeted, taking a sip from the flask he held in his hand. 

“Didn’t take you for a drinker,” That was a lie, but Warfstache said it anyways. The Mark him knew Jack was a heavy drinker. 

“Can’t get any more Irish than this, can I?” Jack laughed sweetly, leaning his head against a wall. He had bandaged up his arms. 

“Sorry you got hurt from this. The chimeras can be really tough,” He scratched his neck looking off in the distance, to the city lights just west of them. 

“Eh, it’s fine.” Jack shoved the flask back into his hoodie pocket, pulling his knees up to his chest and looking at Warfstache. “I’m sorta glad I jus’ got ta’ see you again, you know?” He admitted, his cheeks becoming a soft pink saying it aloud was just weird…

Warfstache turned his attention back to Jack. “Are you really? Or are you trying to flatter me cause I’m famous?” He teased. 

“Maybe both. I’m a lover of the limelight, perhaps.” There was a sly smile in that, but it seemed completely playful. But Mark got distracted in his blue eyes. He then collected himself again,

“You definitely look like I’d see you on TV. Or a Porn mag, whatever floats your boat.” 

“Filthy, man!” His laugh filled to quiet calm air, sun falling reflecting perfectly against both of them. 

“Hey, Warf don’t judge man, no judging.” Warfstache enjoyed the small banter between them.

Jack rolled his eyes, arms wrapped around his knees. “My names Jack, by the way.” Jack realized he hadn’t told this hero his name yet. “Well… Sean, but I prefer Jack.” 

Warfstache couldn’t lead him on to think he already knew his name, so. “That’s a nice name. Jack definitely is more suiting of you.” 

Jack was starting to feel a bit cold. As the sun started to fall, so did the warmth of the day. He scooted closer and laid his head against Warfstaches shoulder, and wrapped himself up in Warfstaches cape. He smelled nice… Like, sweet candles and homemade food. He wondered if he was a cook… He was also really warm. Silence fell between them. But not the awkward silence. It was a peacefully, butterflies in the gut kind of silence. Warfstache wrapped an arm around him, keeping him snug to him. 

They was small talk, and they stayed there for quite a while, losing time and looking at the stars that soon graced the sky together. At one point, they just stopped looking at this stars and spent some time looking to each other. Jack leaned up and gently reached forward to kiss Warfstache softly. Warfstache had met him halfway, holding a hand to his face gently. Jack moved away and gave a content, happy smile. Before they knew it, Jack had fallen asleep against him, and Warfstache had fallen asleep with him too. 

While it’s probably not a good idea to sleep in the open, people probably wouldn’t fuck with a hero of Marks strength. He then awoke, realizing he had fallen asleep. Oh dear. He should probably get up… He gently woke up Jack, and also got up. He stood up, and gently kissed Jacks nose when they both stood. “Need a guide home?” He offered. 

Jack normally would deny, but he was tired and felt like he’d probably get lost… He accepted his offer, and had Warfstache walk him back to his dorm. He held tightly to him at the door. “Sleep well, Warfstache..” Jack said sleepily. 

“You too.” Another kiss. Then, Jack headed inside. Without noticing Mark wasn’t here, he headed to bed and just went straight to sleep. Once Jack was in bed, Warfstache snuck in and changed to pajamas in the dark, and then headed off to sleep too. Once again, having another nightmare of the past, something that just won’t stop bothering him…


	5. Behind the Chimeras, the Masks, Everything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny's duty to send the chimeras off takes a little turn when he visits a deserted building in the desert of California. Jack gets some friendly advice from someone not so friendly, and he later that night meets Warfstache again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! This chapters a bit shorter than others I think, but I feel like I packed it with a lot, and I wanted to leave a small key of mystery to it. Thanks for reading and if you have any questions direct them to my tumblr avialofpoison as always~

The day started off like a normal day. Mark and Jack were off to class, and everyone else was having a calm nice morning. Except for Mister Sexbang. He had other plans for this morning. Yesterday he had been given the task to send off the two creatures to jail, but he…. Had other plans for then, it appeared? Danny stood in front of large… White bricked building, far away from normal civilization in California. With determination in his soul, he knocked. His heart pounded, but his expression was pure stone cold. No one greeted him… He was quickly getting impatient. He’s been waiting for this moment forever. 

He liquefied his body to sneak through the cracks under the door, and reformed himself, looking around. He was going to find this woman, even if it took his life. No matter how long. She can’t hide forever, she’s cooped herself in here for so long there’s no way she would decide to leave today. He will get his hands on her. He will end this once and for all… He will save his friends. He will save Arin.

\--

Mark pondered the school halls after a short exam in his math course, sighing. He felt like he totally screwed it up, because his mind was still heavily rushing with the past trying to tear him apart. And sadly its one of those courses that only have like 4 assignments in total and even messing up on one can result in a big old fail. How obnoxious. He found himself falling deeply for Jack, but at the same time, his mind can’t accustom itself to these feelings and brings up ones who aren’t even here anymore. How convenient, right? He made his way out the building, and he was just kicking around small pebbles on the destroyed concrete around the school grounds. He should probably head back to his dorm for now… Jacks still in class, so he’ll have the place to himself for a little…

Once there, he decided to ring up Danny. Whenever he had trouble with thinking about… Him, Danny was always there to listen. Sometimes they’d just talk long hours on the phone together about it. It was always so calming for the both of them. But after calling twice straight to voicemail, he figured he may be busy… Usually even if he was busy, he’d at least have a message sent out… This was worrying… But he did say he’d be leaving town soon, so maybe he’s busy with that expectantly. He wouldn’t be surprised. The whole combination of a past love, and his hero-self growing passion with Jack left him a bit frustrated… Maybe that’s all this was, and he just needed some private time… Yeah. He locked the door just in case Jack would be back early, so he’d hear the key turn before him walking in…

Jack was busy working away in one of his management classes, but even as an adult, Jack was a heavy day dreamer. In between jotting down notes for Mr. Kjellberg, he stared off thinking about Warfstache. Of course, his teacher who he was well acquainted and friends with, was quick to notice. Not wanting to break his lecture, he waited until the end of class. Once the class was over, he softly placed a hand on Jacks shoulder, jolting him out of his tranced state. 

“Hey, Sean. You seemed out of it today… It’s not the first time, either.” His teacher expressed genuine concern. 

“Oh…” Jack felt a bit self-conscious. He didn’t realize that he had picked up on it… “Sorry… I didn’t mean ta’ be. Oh, and ya don’t have ta’ use my legal name, sir. I’m fine with Jack, yanno.”

“Alright, Jack. What’s been on your mind anyways?” Felix always had a close friendship with Jack because they were nearly the same age, But Felix was teaching because the way his school system was in Sweden excelled them to major much quicker than American schools, so he was more experienced despite age. But Jack was surprised he seemed so invested in his zoning out, since he tended to be grouchy after most classes. But Jack appreciated his care. 

“Just… I’ve been havin weird love stuff goin on and I’m so stressed out balancin everythin else goin on… You know, typical young adult junk.” Jack laughed, scratching the back of his head. 

“Mm, I see. That was me when I first met my fiancée, and at the same time worked desperately not to fail everything.” He empathized, heartily laughing along with him. “I’m sure things will work out well. Just try not to daydream while I’m lecturing, alright? Can’t keep trying to help you catch up on info while were playing games, just makes me drop my ranks, man.” He joked of course.

“Yeah, yeah, I understand.” Jack pulled his bag over his shoulder, and Felix patted his back gently. “Up for that rocket league game tonight? Bobs gonna join us again, if ya’re interested.”

“I’d love to, but I have some exams to finish making before next week. You guys have an exam next week, you do remember? Make sure you study instead of wasting all your time on video game car futbol,” He teased. 

Jack shrugged, “I got this! Seeya.” He headed off then, having another class after this. 

Felix waved him off, and smirked as he left. Perfect… He noticed a piece of his hair laying on the desk. How wonderful. Now Felix can finally see if Jack is who Felix believes he is… He let out a laugh that if anyone was still in the classroom, would’ve made them inclined to call a psych ward right then and there. With that in mind, Felix locked his classroom up, and headed home, a broad smirk plastering his suddenly changed expression. How quick was he to change pace.

Felix was home. He quickly placed his evidence into a container, and put it up to examine the properties. He was finally going to connect the link between Jack and SepticSpark… While we had developed a friendship with him, his villain duties were his first priority, of course. But he couldn’t lead Jack to figure that out before the time comes… He changed his outfit. He wore a skin tight body suit. Army type boots, white shirt cuffs by his arms, large sunglasses, and face mask. His body suit was marked with a symbol of a blue fist and had stripes down the sides. He also brandished himself with a pink, fuzzy scarf, and a crown that doubled as a boomerang. It lead to confusing heroes trying to stop him, and, he felt absolutely fabulous in the outfit. He had to head out… He hugged Edgar, his dog, and let him kiss his face, and headed out. 

He had three close confidents in his villain ways. Kubz, CinnaK, and MPie. They helped him work out his plans. But, they were busy today, So Felix was on his own. He had his own special villain name. PewDie, they called him. It worked. Mostly because he was quite childlike despite his villain ways and thought like, pew in a gun and death. Because that sounds cool. So, he need more money, so while it was later into the night, he snuck into a jewelry store through the vents, and made his way to the safe. He was never one to make commotion with his crimes, doing them late when he knew it wouldn’t be a bother or bring attention too much. 

But, apparently he hadn’t done well with that attempt. When he started to crack open the safe that held a rare, pink diamond embellished in sapphire necklace, a voice resonated behind him, breaking his concentration. 

“You! Drop everything, and you won’t get hurt!” The voice cried. It was a very neutral voice, one that could go either way, most likely a child. When Felix turned, his assumptions were right. 

“Ah… I’m so scared, kid, you’re making me shake in my boots here.” He chuckled, hand finding his hip. “Look, shouldn’t you be at home kid…? You can get yourself hurt.” 

“Don’t underestimate me, jerk…!” The young hero launched at him, reaching to roundhouse his face in. Felix dodged and they fell over instead. That’s when Felix noted their odd costume. It was a red and black costume, donned with a fox tail, ears, and a face mask. Long arm gloves transitioned from red to back, stockings too, with raggedy sneakers- No, get this, the whole outfit was raggedy. As if the kid sewed random shit from a garbage dump together and called it a costume. Felix had to stay composed, and not laugh. The kid coughed, and was quick to get back up. “You’re not getting off that easy…!” The kid took a deep breath, and expelled fire from their lungs, lunging it at Felix. He caught on fire, but got it out, since it only got him slightly

“H-Hey! Look, you really need to go home, you don’t want to get yourself or anyone else hurt.”

“No! I will capture you myself, evil doer!” The kid tried again, and then stumbled. They seemed very new to this. That’s when Felix heard the police sirens. 

“Dammit…!” Whelp, there goes that… He was too fast for the kid to find where he went, and he made his escape rather easily. But once he was out of the building, he stopped, peering around. He noticed the kid again… Feeling a bit uneasy, he decided to follow the kid in the shadows, until he lost sight of them. He really hoped they got home… Wait, what? Why would you care about that? That kid just tried to roast you! And not in the metaphorical sense, no, they were about to turn you into barbeque chicken! But Felix seemed more concerned with where they hell they came from, and why such a young child isn’t being supervised this late. He shoved it off his mind, smacking himself to reality. He headed home, declaring the night a bust, and going to just cuddle with Edgar instead. His dog always helped him stay calm.

 

Jack found himself walking along the streets all night instead of heading back to the dorms right away. He needed to calm down his mind, and have fun just running around as SepticSpark for a while where he could play, and learn more about his powers in any way he could. He found this fun way to basically propel himself up, and illusion flying by using separation of charges, to hold yourself high above ground, and even shoot yourself up. Isn’t physics fun? Wait, would that count as physics? He wouldn’t know. Mark was the one taking those types of classes, not him. While just messing around, he landed on a certain rooftop only to find Warfstache there, staring off into the distance. 

“…Warfstache?” Septic called out, interested that he just so happened to stumble upon him here. “It’s funny to run into you again.” He smiled.   
Warfstache jumped slightly, headed jotting to look at SepticSpark, and then turning around right away. His face looked… Odd… Like something had happened, like he was… Crying? 

“G-go away...” He even choked like he was crying, “I’m s-sorry… This isn’t a good time.”

SepticSpark felt a bit sad for him. He walked over instead of leaving, and gently wrapped an arm around Warfstache. “Hey… You know, we can talk, right…? I consider you my friend. Like, hero partner.” Septic gave him a reassuring look. “Talk to me…”

Warfstache wiped at his eyes, and seemed to not acknowledge him at all for a moment. And then, he turned to tightly hold SepticSpark into his arms. “I… I just… I-I’m scared, t-to have another hero partner.” He admitted. He released the hug as to not be awkward. He turned to face SepticSpark now, trying to wipe away his dumb blubbering tears… “I… I had a-a good friend… Someone I really… C-cared and loved, as my partner in justice… A-and I let him die,” This was the first time Warfstache’s opened up about the incident since it occurred. “I couldn’t… I wasn’t… I… I am n-not strong enough, and now… I’ve been feeling the same way about you that I did for him, and I can’t help but be…”

“…Anxious, scared? Oh… Warfstache, I’m so sorry about that. That type of thing is… Awful, it’s devastating…” SepticSpark gently placed both his hands on the taller ones shoulders, giving him a compassionate smile. “I understand if you don’t feel… Comfortable, with this hero duo we’ve developed the past few days… It’s fine if you don’t want to make this a common thin--” He was cut off before he could finish,

“--No! I-I mean… I… I want to fight by your side.” Warfstache cleared his throat, and reaching up to hold Septic’s cheek. “I’m scared, of course… I’m worried I won’t be strong enough to help if worse comes to worse… But as long as you’re by my side, I don’t… I don’t worry, about those things…” Warfstache repositioned his arms and wrapped around SepticSpark’s waist, holding him close again. The smaller hero kept his arms wrapped around his shoulders, relaxing gently into this. 

“…I’m glad, then.” Septic chuckled gently. Music played from the building below them. It was quiet, but enough for them to hear. “Will you be my partner in justice?” 

“Only if we can seal it with a dance.” Warfstache seemed calmer now, still sniffling away his earlier crying. The smaller hero agreed, and stepped back. He then took his hand, and looked up peacefully at Warfstache. He returned a gentle, but tired showing look, and they danced the night away together. 

\--

Danny was still wandering around, when he found an area that lead away from the surface. She must be hiding in some basement area… He entered an elevator type thing, disguised as a closet, and was quick to head down. But, as he expected, he must’ve been watched. Without warning, the elevator had gas seeping from the walls. Because it was odorless and had no color, Danny was knocked out before he knew what even hit him.  
…  
Hours passed. The time, who knew. The place was cold… Metal… He realized he was laying on a cold metal, in a room that had a small of iron, and antibiotics, like some sick, twisted hospital. When he struggled to open his eyes, his head lay to his left side. He tried to speak, but his mouth was dry, and it was hard… He tried to move, when he realized his wrist were bound by leather tassels, as well as his ankles. He turned his head to inspect the room when-- Boom, there she was. 

“…Doctor Blaque…” Danny took a bit too actually say that, his voice sounding scratchy and tired. 

“You’re awake? How surprising. The toxins should have knocked you out for a much longer time. Nothing less expected from one of my mutants, though~” She cooed, seeming way too happy for the situation at hand. 

“You fuckin’… B-bastard…” He coughed, feeling his scratchy throat and pained chest hurt even more. Ouch… His first instinct was to mold himself but-- He… Couldn’t? “What the… The hell did you do…?” He growled.

“Meeee~? Oh, nothing, I created your ability, I know easily how to suppress it of course, love.” She replied, tapping his pen against her clipboard. 

Danny sighed. Of course she did. “...But you don’t know how to suppress a creature ability, huh? Sounds like some limited knowledge of your own creations.”

“Oh sweetums, you know that was merely experimental. Wasn’t my fault those two went insane and broke out of containment before I could finish research. I’m a lot smarter than you take me for, Sexbang.” He seemed to almost break her smile at the end there, but she collected herself quickly. “Well… No need to get worked up over a failure. Mustn’t waste time on those passed.” 

“How dare you! Th--” He coughed roughly, “They’re still a-alive! And they’re suffering because of your awful experiments!!!!” Danny spat, feeling his anger build up. 

“They are? My calculations estimated them dead months ago… Well, I’m not sure why you thought bringing yourself here, breaking in, how would that help you or them any?” She leaned over, giving those sly eyes. 

“I want… I want to know how to fix them… You are going to f-fucking change them back…”

“Am I really? First off, I just said I have no technology to fully suppress them due to cut off research. They’re not my problem. But maybe, I can pick up my research on you again, dear.”

“No… No, fuck no! Stop this! I just want to help my friends… Please, let me go…” His attitude shifted suddenly. He reverted back into terror, regressing to the pleads when she first started her experiments. “Please… I have to be there… For Arin… For Suzy… Let me go…”

“Let me think… Mmmm no! You’re too valuable, let’s see if we can add new features to you. And maybe I can get you fully under my control now. Exciting, yes? Just like old times~!” 

“T-This isn’t some winter soldier situation… I’ll escape, and you’ll regret this…” He coughed, still struggling. He felt his senses melting away quickly… It was like reliving a nightmare, but, in forreal. It was literally what he was doing. 

“Well, you sure are no Bucky, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be the villain,” She teased, “Do you think I should work on my Russian accent? That sounds fun… Anyways, I’m going to get something things so I can start up where we left off, love.” She smirked, and just left the room. 

Danny laid there now, considering this was the only thing he could do now. He heard as they left the building, and he was… So, angry that he got caught. I mean of course he would have but… Ugh, he was stupid to come here in the first place and fall into such an obvious trap, his mind had been somewhere else of course. Happened more often than he should admit. He felt his face become wet, it hurt… Tears…? What an awful time to start crying… 

Time passed. It was quiet, aside from Danny’s heavy breathing. It was hard to breathe laying on the cold table held up like this… She hadn’t returned for a while, so at least he was grateful for that. Suddenly, he heard the sounds of breaking. Glass shattering, metal clattering, things being tossed around nonstop were all Danny heard. It must’ve been someone tearing shit up above him… Was it her? Maybe she was angry? No… It sounded heavier than a small woman like herself. It sounded like a giant creature… With the type of experiments run, he wouldn’t be surprised if she had more experiments of chimeras and failing to contain them. He… Felt like this was the end. There was nowhere else to go. She was going to trap him here until he’s no longer breathing… Nothing left but… To accept this fate. He just… Really wished he could’ve helped his friends, but that was just impossible. If only whatever came down now and just end it for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3 new players in the game now too, so we'll see where this leads. Please don't be mad at who I decided to make villains. I do not hate Felix in anyway, and used to really enjoy his content (dont watch him as much as i did when i was younger, but hes not a bad guy irl :P). Just thought it'd be interesting if the youtubers weren't all heroes. (also sorry for torturing danny <3) We'll see what next chapter brings our heroes, and villains!


	6. Truth Behind the Animal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally a discovery is made about who these creatures are. The action is low, but the awkward times and depressed mood is an all time high. What can we do to fix everything?

A gazed look, empty room. His eyes didn’t shine like they usually did, now only reflected a lame, glassy look. Crash, Bang came the noises overhead, but it’s been days now. It didn’t faze him anymore. The Doctor has shown up few times, realizing he’s become completely unresponsive to most of her instigating. She must be planning some torture thing for him, because she’s been getting annoyed. The noises seemed to get closer… They must’ve made it down here, which would be weird for a chimera, considering their brains usually turn into mush and communicating is like trying to communicate with someone suffering from Brocas aphasia. But they all seemed to understand each other quite well. Maybe it was a higher intelligence one? Who knew? Danny didn’t. He didn’t even seem to care in the least bit. 

Mark and Jack were finishing up their midterm exams, and everyone was getting ready to head home to see their families once exams were officially done. Mark had booked a plane with Bob and Wade to head back to Cincinnati together, and Jack was going to head back to Ireland for the week. But they had two more days, and everyone was worried, and not just about heading home. 

“Hey, Mark?” Jack called out to him, walking into the kitchen area, where Mark was eating. “Have you heard from Danny recently? Any leads or anything?” He seemed concerned, sitting beside him. 

Mark shook his head. “Actually, no… I haven’t. Usually he answers after a show at least, but… Theres been no sign of him. Brian’s already called authorities, but no leads. Danny’s not the type of person to just… Disappear like that.” Mark seemed caught up on this. This past week has been hard, both school wise and worrying about Danny… Marks nightmares have also been worsening, and he worries there may be a correlation of these events. “I’m… I’m scared.” 

“…Mark…” Jack reached over and placed an empathetic hand against his shoulder. He was also upset… Danny was one of the first people he became friends with when he first started living in the LA, (besides Mark his roommate of course) and he was such a humble guy for being one of his idols of the time. “I am too… But we’ll just have to wait. Knowing Danny, he can fight back, I know it… He’ll be alright.” 

Mark gave him a small, tired smile to acknowledge his empathy, but it didn’t last long till he looked down back to his plate sadly. 

After that, it mostly became another quiet morning like it’s been for the past week. It didn’t take long for classes to start and they went their separate ways for the day. Mark grew tired of wading around, not being proactive about this… He’s a hero goddamn, what kind of hero can’t save their friend? This… Wouldn’t be the first time. He wasn’t going to slip up again. After idling finishing his final test, he headed out. He changed out of his outfit. For the week he’s been travelling around California late at night to look, but he had no lead. He tried looking around prisons since that was the last thing he was supposed to do, putting those chimeras away, but that didn’t happen, he also was checking out his place and common hangouts. He wondered if Tim could help him out… 

Mark took a looong breath in, and whistled out a small tune. Almost sounding like the forest song in LoZ but that’s cause Mark is a goddamn nerd. But anyways. A moment passed, and soon a floating box appeared on his shoulder, “Maaarrk~! It’s been a while since you’ve called me!” The happy box seemed joyous to come out to play. 

“Heh, it has been, Tiny box Tim. I’ve had a whole lot happen since last time you were by my side.” Mark chuckled. He clicked the edge of his glasses on the left side and let himself take his Warfstache form. “I need you to help me do some scouting. I don’t know why I didn’t come to you earlier.” Mark shrugged, an oversight on his part. He looked from the high building he stood, “You’re good at detecting bad things happening, and you remember Danny. Could you scout out for me?”

“Yes, of course!” Tim delightedly replied, and floated out into the city. Mark watched him off, and decided to also go looking. He hopped down from the building and carefully slowed himself by hopping between buildings before dropping to the ground. 

He inspected the city, and thought… If he was a criminal, wouldn’t you go maybe somewhere deserted? Some are in plain sight, but maybe… He made his way to the desert, which he knew may be a waste of time to try looking in that barren wasteland, but he felt like it was his last hope. He made his way to the edge of the desert, ready to head out, when suddenly he got smacked in the back of the head by some small object. “Ow! Hey, what the--” When he turned around to figure out what the hell hit him, he found a floating green eyeball. “WHAT THE Fuck ARE YOU?!” He panicked, stumbling over. Behind the eyeball thingy someone was running his way-- SepticSpark…?

“Oi, Sam! Ya need to slow ‘et down!! --Warfstache??” He stopped right behind the floating green eye, noticing Warfstache on the ground. Mark flustered and brushed the sand off the bottom of his outfit, embarrassed now. 

“Err… ‘Sup, Septic. Talk about awkward greeting.” Warfstache awkwardly laughed, “That things name… It’s Sam?” He questioned. 

“Oh! Yeah, Sam’s my lil’ buddy. I was uh, just…” 

“…Looking for Sexbang?” Warfstache interjected. 

“Actually, yeah… Ahah. I’m surprised to see you too. I saw ya lookin’ on Wednesday too, but I didn’t want to bother ye.” SepticSpark scratched the back of his neck, “Sorry about Sammy here bumpin’ into ya. He’s an excited little fella, and he can see small glimpses into the eyes of other people he’s seen before. So, he was able to get images from Sexbangs last whereabouts, but all he saw were glimpses of sand, and a cold large bunker… I think we have a kidnapper on our hands here.” 

“Sam can actually do that? That wonderful.” Warfstache seemed impressed, petting the top of Sammy, to which he received a happy noise in return. “I was actually thinking to check here, and I have a small partner like that too. His name is Tiny Box Tim, he’s good at radaring criminals from other people. I remember my first time out as a hero and he just… Appeared, and lead me straight into a giant crime operation I got taken down. So once he catches sight of any criminal presence out here, he’ll let me know.”

“Talk ‘bout handy lil’ bastard.” SepticSpark joked, looking out into the desert. The fookin’ place is massive though, so it’ll take us time. Would ye like to stick with me or split up?” He asked. 

“What are you, Freddy of the Mystery Gang? If theres a kidnapper out there that got Danny, It’d be a lot safer to go together. Less efficient, but safer.” Warfstache suggested, worried for his safety. “Besides, strength in numbers, right?” He then pulled off the small bag he had, “By the way, you stocked up? Travelling this thing will not be a walk in the park. I got some waters and snacks. I’d suggest you grab something, I may not have enough.” 

“Oh! Of course!” He took only a few moments and he quickly returned with some supplies, quite a bit for the short time. “Speedy perks! Don’t worry, I paid for em, that’s what took the extra time.” He smiled widely, seeming proud of himself obviously. Warfstache laughed, a faint pink colour rising to his cheeks. He found SepticSpark so endearing, sweet, and cute. But in a hot kind of way, since he has those lean muscles most would die for. Wait. Warfstache, what the fuck are you thinking about right now? Bad time. He always found himself out of focus around Septic, he was quite charming. At least he was in a better mood now, but he was still terrified for his dear friend. 

“Um… Anyways, let’s not waste any more time, kid flash.” He teased. 

“Hey! You wan’ me to make parallels to you and comics too, Mister Superman wannabe?” Septic retorted, as they headed out finally. 

“Woah, I ain’t no Superman. Now if you want to call me anything, you can call me Saitama, much better comparison.” 

“Wha’s tha difference? They’re both OP as all hell! I mean, Saitamas better, but,”

“My point exactly, dear SepticSpark. My point exactly.”

He rolled his eyes, laughing again. “Can I be your Genos then, dear senpai?” SepticSpark smirked, sticking his tongue out in his direction.

“Sure! You also seem like one of those heroes that don’t give up when you know you’re gonna get your ass obliterated, and then I swoop in saving you.” 

“Wasn’t it the other way around when you got that good ass lickin’ from that chimera that pinned you against a building about to crush yer entire being?” 

“Hey, that’s not fair to bring that up, I was having a moment. It happens.” 

“Ya, a moment with a creature that wants ta’ slaughter ye.” 

“Well, my mind wondered. In the middle of a battle. Yes. Shut up.” 

Septic just busted with laughter, still scavenging the area. Sam was just relaxing on his shoulder, listening to their banter. They stayed quiet for some time with small talk in-between but they were focusing on looking. About an hour in, they were chugging some water, still walking, not ready to take any rest soon. 

They felt prepared. They would do whatever they could to save Danny. Warfstache grew increasingly worried for Tim, since he hasn’t returned in a while. But he had to be patient. Tim couldn’t really physically get hurt and was able to poof in and out of places, so he shouldn’t be so worried, but still… Sometime in between the quiet talks and searching, Warfstache noticed his hand suddenly carried extra weight. Septic had at some point grabbed his hand. He peered up to the sky, and decided to push aside his flushed face and think about it for its probable purpose: So they don’t lose each other, as sun was now falling. Of course SepticSpark anticipated that being Warfstache’s thought process, but he also just really wanted to hold his hand because they were so close right now and he was sorta… Ugh, whatever, he was just wanting to hold his hand. Warfstache decided to give his hand a small squeeze, causing Septic to fluster up. 

Things kept quiet like this for a while until suddenly there was a small sound in the distance, and it got louder and louder. “wwwwwwwwwaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrffffffsssTTTTTTAAAACCCCHHHHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!” The voice slowly gained volume until a Tim smacked Warfstache straight in the face, “I found him! I found the building!” Tiny Box Tim explained, excited and happy, he wanted to make Mark feel happy again! 

Warfstache chuckled for a moment, holding the small box close. “Tim! You did?? I’m so proud of you!” He looked to SepticSpark. “Told you he could find it.” 

Septic smiled wide. “Tim is adorable…!” He mentioned, patting his shoulder. “Well, now we can finally help him! We can’t waste any time, right?” 

Warfstache nodded. He placed Tim on his shoulder, and told them which way to go. While walking, Tim took note of Sam and they seemed to take a liking to each other, and it wasn’t surprising they got along. What they bantered on about seemed to just be things that Warfstache and SepticSpark weren’t exactly sure of, but they talked along anyways. 

It took another 3 hours to reach the large building, not realizing how far it was… “Fuck, I need a rest.” 

“We’re literally right here. Drink, eat a snack, and then were going inside.” Septic said, grabbing his water to drink it down. “God… I didn’t think I’d be sweating in the desert with no sun this much.” He was right; the sun had already fallen, and stars just started to shine out. Warfstache ate a small snack, and felt more prepped.

“We’re going to kick the ass of anyone that gets in our way of Danny, right?” Warfstache smirked, feeling a confidence boost. Right as they got closer, there was banging against the door, loud, anger, and pure brute force. 

Warfstache and SepticSpark both took a fighting stance, putting up their defenses to these sounds. They gave each other a look of understanding, and Sam and Tim quickly backing away, and they poof, they headed off. The door was then torn down, being tossed with full force right between them, both of them barely avoiding it. When they looked back, they spotted the exact chimera that Danny was supposed to arrest, with Danny unconscious over his shoulder. They moved to a more offensive stance to fight, but the creature gave a very sad look. 

“No… Fight…” He held a hand out… Or, a giant claw filled paw type thing. “Help…” He… Seemed hurt. Not just physically, but there was a distraught look in his large brown eyes. “…Help… Danny…” Tears… The creature was crying. “Friend… Help…” The creature gently placed down Danny in the soft sand, and passed out. 

Warfstache looked panicked at SepticSpark, and he returned the look. They both zipped forward, both went straight for Danny, but then Warfstache went over to the chimera. He felt… Close to it. He was scared about the conclusions he was coming to. “It… Communicated with us.” He said. A heavy feeling sunk in his heart. Friend… He knew his name… The nightmares. Suddenly Warfstache was putting the puzzle pieces together, his face burning with the tears that started to finally flow. “…ARIN…!” He shouted, draping his arms around the chimera-- No, he draped his arms around Arin. Around his ex-love. Around his… Friend. He lost himself. 

\--

Warfstache and SepticSpark also found the other, who got stuck dragging behind Arin, who Warfstache had identified as Suzy. Both Warfstache and SepticSpark lifted Arin, Suzy, and Danny back to LA, to a nearby hospital, and separated their ways. 

“Mhhn…” A small noise pierced the silence of the room. Jack, Wade, and a few other friends who were waiting perked up cheerfully, noticing the previously missing friend was now conscious, peering around. He felt… Warm. A soft pillowy bed (well not that pillow like, but it beats what he had been stuck on before) blankets enshrouding him… Was it a hallucination? He squeezed his eyes open to the bright hospital lights, when he noticed it was no dream. He was awake and he was away. He was in a hospital… Some of his wounds have been cleaned, covered, and stitched up. “I… I’m in a…” 

“You’re in the hospital, Danny.” Jack spoke up, smiling gently and moving to hold him in a warm embrace. The rest moved near his bed now, happy he was awake. 

“Man… I was worried… I was scared, you gave me like, so many heart attacks. You can’t do that to me, I’m getting to old for this.” Brian commented, not hesitating to hold tightly after Jack backed away. “You dumbass. I’m so glad you’re alive.” 

“I… I am… Where’s…?” 

“Arin, Suzy, you mean. They’re in their own room. Doctors aren’t sure what to do. But they’re making sure their wounds are tended to.” Wade chimed in, “I… I think we’re all in shock they’re still alive, especially the way they… Err…” Wade was scared to comment more, in fear of sounding insensitive possibly. 

“We found them saving you from that building. We don’t know whose place it was, because we wanted to rush you all to safety.” Jack filled him in. 

“...” Danny surveyed the room to see everyone here. Everyone who was close enough to him seemed to be here… Except… “Mark…” Danny seemed too tired, out of it to complete full sentences at the moment at least. 

“Marks… With, uh…” Jack seemed to stop.

“Marks with Arin. I’ll tell him you woke up.” Wade spoke up, noticing Jack seeming… A bit odd now? But he decided to avoid commenting on it. 

Danny smiled slightly from the corner of his mouth. “I’m… Glad… Thank you…” He looked to Jack, seeming happy despite everything. “Are they… Okay…?” 

“Arin and Suzy are alive… They’re being held down for safety reasons though, in case they wake and… Well, you can guess.” Brian seemed a bit weirded out explaining it. He didn’t like the idea of his friends being tied up either, but the danger was far too high. 

Danny nodded, acknowledging what he meant. Moments passed and Wade returned with Mark, and Mark was quick to grab ahold of Danny in a hug. “I’m so happy you’re awake… And alive…” Mark was trying to think of what to say… He can’t give away that he helped find him. “It was amazing that those two nice heroes brought you here quickly.” 

“Yeah… I just… Want… Arin… Suzy… To be… Okay…” Danny relaxed a bit, shutting his eyes again. All this sudden talking his hurting his throat… Not that most everything else wasn’t already hurting… 

Mark nodded, “I understand… How, how did you know?” Mark still found himself questioning that. 

“I don’t… I don’t want to… Explain… I just knew.” 

“Alright, let’s not push him too hard, he just woke up.” Brian suggested, placing a hand on Marks shoulder. He nodded to Brian, taking a step back. 

Danny did not waste time to fall asleep again, probably still tired. Mark sighed, looking to Wade. “Do you know if Bobs coming?” Mark asked him. 

“No, he’s still packing. We’re leaving tomorrow… I wish we could stay for Danny, but tickets aren’t cheap and we already paid.” Wade just shrugged, “He has Brian and others with him.”

“I know… I’m concerned for him. Also Arin and Suzy… It’s weird seeing them again in the way they are, I wish we could… I don’t know, help them?” Mark grabbed his own arm nervously, just… He felt shaken up by this, but of course he’s not the one hurt in this… They are, but it’s really freaking him out. 

“Oh, that reminds me, I gotta leave tonight.” Jack remembered, “Hell, I should probably go. I’ll see you all in some time.” Jack hugged most everyone, and headed out 

“Visiting hours are closing soon anyways, so we should probably head out too, Mark.” Wade suggested. Mark nodded, “You leaving too, Brian?” 

“No, I’ll stay with Dan for a little longer. You guys enjoy your break, alright?” Brian gave a soft smile.

“Of course… Thank you. We’ll call to check on them.” Mark held up his phone, and then waved him off. 

It was hard with everything going on to focus on the holidays coming up. A shitty way to start it too. Mark was packing back in the dorm, and Jack was prepping to go, he was going to meet up with his friend Daithi, but they had two different planes back to Ireland, but they both departed around the same time, so it was company. Mark gave Jack a hug, and wished him well. Mark then finished packing his things, and then sat down to play some video games. Usually he stayed up late so he could sleep on the plane, so that was his plan. But Arin, Danny, Suzy never left his mind… It got so bad he had to toss the game aside and just stare at his phone all night and try to drown things with music. 

Time finally came where he had to leave, and Bob came to pick him and Wade up, and they headed to the airport together, rambling on about whatever they could, what they planned for holidays, but that didn’t stop any of the awkward silences that kept coming up whenever they thought about what was going on. But Wade tried to keep spirits up, making light of things when it got too dark. Finally they were on the plane, mostly napping, and back in Cincinnati, it was time to try to make it feel like an actual vacation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Weeeeell there was not a lot of fighting in this chapter, but I will be adding more of that in the next one, this one was meant to just push things forward a bit. My plot ideas are a large mess of random dreams I've had so hopefully they're being written... Alright, at least.   
> Once again you can ask me anything on my tumblr @avialofpoison and everything goes. Thanks to everyone that's been following the story <3


	7. A Break from our Main

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mark and Jack are on Winter Vacation, so some trouble makers decide its a perfect time to loot the place in vulnerability.  
> A time for new introductions, new people. New heroes, new enemies, welcome to the game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiiiii!! I'm so sorry for being gone for so long! I've graduated high school so I'm working on doing adult stuffz, emotional and mental problems, and just trying to find out what I'm doing with life lol.
> 
> Some of you may see this Chapter like a filler story? It's basically a way to introduce some new heroes and bad guys that will show up with Mark and Jack, and it was basically giving me a chance to let them have this chapter. The next chapter will be a BIG turn for our main two heroes though, so hold on for that!

“Looks like the place is barren of heroes, eh?” An Asian man noted, turning to his masked partner, a hockey mask with weird paint markings on it.

“What are they, a bunch high school kids with freaky powers?” He scratched the back of his head, ruffling his messy light brown hair. “Or college kids. Might still be some running around, but you know what this means, right?” He smirked, though it couldn’t be seen through the mask over his face. 

“Yup.” Walking across the room, he slammed a hand on a giant white board with plans and configurations all over it, organized and ready. “A heist, my friend. Get the crew, Jonathon. It’s gonna be a long week.”

The young hero looked over the city, feeling rather peaceful at night, with little going on. It’s like bad guys were on vacation or something! Inspecting his surroundings just making sure nothing messes up this peaceful night. That was all disturbed when he noticed suddenly a speeding vehicle abruptly stopped in front of a large building; likely an office building…. And they looked the opposite of friendly. They wore obscure mask, like an owl or a Halloween mask, and this made him worry. But he couldn’t go in alone. He quickly pushed out his cell. 

“Dan!” His British voice resonated through the phone. “We have a problem at the Regal L.A. Building Center.” 

“Right now..? I just started this episode…” Dan told him, lying in bed looking disappointedly to the laptop screen.

“Yes, right now. C’mon, pleeeassse.” 

Dan groaned into the phone, and closed the top of his laptop. “Fine, but only because I don’t want you to get yourself killed cause I know you’re gonna follow no matter what.”

“And you would be right! Hurry, I’m going in.” 

“Bye, Phil.”

He hung up the phone, and then jumped off the top of the building, gliding himself down with his parasol. He landed on the ground after gliding to it, and watched as the mysterious men entered the place. He made sure to phone the police before heading in, but they were rather slow with the late night traffic, so he had to take preemptive measures. He adjusted his cat mask, and snuck into the building after he found a clear opening. Dan joined him soon after, also adorning a cat mask and a full black outfit. 

“Do you see them..?” He whispered to Phil, sticking close to each other. 

“No… Wait, do you know where they may be holding some money? They would obviously go there first…” Phil suggested, quietly prying open a vent system. 

“I’m not sure, but we need to split up and search. You got your communicator?” Dan asked, holding a small device that was smaller than a phone but worked as a mini and much quieter walkie talkie. 

He nodded, showing it to him. He then climbed into the vent. “I’ll head to the left side of the building, you stick to the right.” 

Meanwhile, the owl masked man held his small flashlight, looking to the Jason masked one. “Any luck?” The owl asked. 

“Actually, I found a safe on the 6th floor, Evan. Brian’s making sure it’s safe, and then Craiggs got the stuff to get it open.”

“Okay, good. I’m still ransacking the place for any valuables that we can trade in for anything good.” He flipped the flashlight out and stuffed it in his back pocket. “After this we’re gonna have to do some long day heist. This is just so we can get the supplies to be safe for the bigger stuff.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Let’s make this quick then.” The Jason masked one scratched his head, “I’m heading back up with them.”

“Alright. Keep watch out for any brats.” The owl, Evan, headed off in the other direction, and then the Jason masked one went up to head up as he said. Out of their unknowing, the raven haired hero was in the vents right above them, listening to them.

“Dan...!!” He quietly but frantically contacted him. “The owl dude is heading your way, look out. I’m heading up to the safes… Not exactly sure where that is, but I’m following someone!” 

“Don’t do anything drastic before getting me, okay? I don’t need you hurting yourself.” 

“Why do you think I would do anything??” Phil muttered, a rather innocent coo voice to his best friend. 

Dan sighed, “I’m not going to explain all the ways things can go wrong, Phil. You can’t even play some Pokémon Go without getting yourself basically killed.” 

“I won’t get in trouble!!”

“Well, I think you already have, heh.” The malicious and unknown voice resonated from behind him in the surprisingly sturdy vents, why haven’t they fallen from the weight? Fanfic magic, that’s why. 

“Wha-- Oh, balls-!” Phil’s heart almost leaped out of his chest, and he seemed to be quick to start moving again out of fear. “Dan!! Daaaaaaaaaaan!!”

“Phil! Phil, where are you?!” Dan squeezed the pseudo walkie talkie in his hands, palms sweaty, knees, weak, moms spaghetti- what? Not the time. Dan, no memes. Your best friends if fucking trouble! “Phil, run!!” 

Phil’s communicator has been dropped and left behind, in the mess of the escape, but it didn’t take long for the guy to pull out a weapon that was rather unlethal, but it was quick to knock him out, a Taser right to him. The mysterious man had been able to pull him out of the vents and now tie him down to a random office chair he found around him. “Ay, Evan, caught some kid sneaking around. Don’t think he’s alone, either.” He spoke to the Evan person throwing his own communication device. “I’m on the 4th floor office room.”

“Alright, keep him down, go find the other one, Marcel.” 

“Got it. He’d tied up, he should be out for a little bit longer, not sure how resistant he is. He also had a bunch of funky gadgets… They need some analyzing. Clearly a hero wannabe.”

“Well maybe we can utilize em for ourselves, we could always use more tools. Free stuff.” 

While Phil had dropped his device, Dan was freaking out and was still able to hear, listening carefully to what was happening. He wasted no time to crossover to where he heard Phil was, and managed to sneak in to find no one there. Now time to find Phil… It was dark, and using light would bring to much attention. Finally he had witnessed him from quite a ways, when he heard mutterings down the hall. Fuck…! Theres no way he can get him right now. He quickly hid under a desk as who he assumed to be the Evan guy he heard about. That owl mask was odd, but he was sure it was a creative choice for sure. Nice animal. Not so nice guys. He was grateful they didn’t seem like the murder right away type of criminals thank god, but also, they may just not have the supplies to either. Either way, Dan is grateful they didn’t shoot him dead on spot. The bird looking fellow casually walked around Phil before leaning over and grabbing the bag of gadgets that his partner had described to him. It would be really bad if he stole them, since they were things that Phil had made, and useful with their lack of powers. In the wrong hands they could be deadly, and dangerous. 

That’s when Dan knew he had to fight back. Before he could charge for it though, the bird guy scoffed, sounding like his pores were leaking of a smug confidence. “Alright, come out from hiding mister hero number two, I knew you’d make your way here.” That made Dan’s entire body freeze. He knew he was here? Fuck, maybe besides the mask, he’s also got bird like vision, definitely useful in the dark environment, compared to his normal eyes. “I don’t have all night. Some of us have real jobs to do instead of playing mister good guy.” Dan heard the sound of a cold object gently smacking against skin, as Evan bounced a crowbar against his palm, impatiently waiting. 

Dan finally pulled himself together and stood up, after putting on his night vision goggles he remembered he had, so this guy couldn’t sneak up and beat him to death or anything. Why’d he forget about them anyways? How convenient he remembered now. Yup. Convenience indeed. “I’m here. And you have my friend. Let him go, and no one gets hurt.” 

“Tough guy, are we? You might be the size of a damn giant but you’re as scrawny as a fishing pole. I’d love to see you try me, noodle boy.” The man was indeed shorter, but he was built like a former military man, Jesus. The odds didn’t look too good for Dan. He then clicked a button on his watch which equipped some metal gloves over his hands, a big size, looking almost like toys but fully functional like some iron man gloves. 

“I said, untie my friend, now!” Dan looked serious, holding the charged gloves in the man’s direction. 

“Fancy lookin’ gloves. Got a copyright claim on those?” He taunted, and lunged forward at Dan, seeming to call a buff on the silly looking gloves. Dan fired them, shoving the man across the room, giving Dan enough time to rush to Phil’s side, slicing the ropes off. But before he could try to wake him, the man was up again, a raised crowbar aimed for the back of Dan’s head. He barely managed to cover his head from the impact, and then he rolled back a bit, gaining some distance between them. His force managed to dent the works though, so he was unsure how charging it again may backfire and destroy the technology. Instead, he gripped his bad, and pulled out these long robotic arms like some Doctor Doom cliché, the same thing he had used for before to save that girl, now gripping Phil, while another arm pointed at Evan. It seemed the arms were controlled by the weird powered gloves he had. 

“Looks like you’re at a disadvantage now.” Dan smirked, holding a battle stance. 

“You would think so. But I already got what I need thanks for me distracting you.” Evan laughed rather off-like, definitely a kind of laugh you’d expect a criminal to have. That’s when they heard a rather loud car engine from outside starting. “Thanks for keeping me entertained though, boys. It was eventful. I’m not much of a killer, so go on your merry ways.” He bowed, and dashed off. 

“Like hell I’m letting you off that easily...! Get back here you bastard!” Dan went on a full on chase after him. He can’t believe he was such an idiot to forget about all the others and let this one distract him the entire time! He managed to lunge his mechanical arm at him, lifting him from his spot. 

“Fuck--! You haven’t won though…” Evan arched back his arm, lunging his crowbar to Dan’s face. Dan dodged thankfully, sighing as if he was relieved-- Until he pulled out a gun?! His body flinched, fearing, not realizing he had been holding it the entire time, but he merely shot the arm holding him up, and pried himself out. It took Dan a few moments to realize he was fine, but he was too late. He was out of site. He continued to the exit only to find the car parked out before was gone. Dammit…! He felt it would be suspicious if he were to report anything, besides he set off the alarms while leaving on purpose, since the police hadn’t shown up earlier. How reliable. Dan then decided to make sure he got Phil back to their apartment safely. This was the first time they finally had someone escape from them, and it was sorta soul crushing. Though, they were extremely careless and mostly their crime fighting has been bank and drug store robberies, so they haven’t done this type of stuff yet, trying to stop late night thieves in empty buildings. 

“It seems like indeed there still are some heroes in the lurks. Luckily they don’t seem like they’d be too much of a problem, some lanky British boys with science fair toys.” Evan spoke up during the rather quiet car ride, having tossed his mask aside by now to drive better

“Those toys seem rather menacing from yours and Marcel’s description though, so we’ll have to be cautious still.” The former Jason masked one spoke back, his mask tossed aside revealing his clown makeup donned face. Whether it was actually makeup or tattoos to his face was debatable. “I’ve seen ‘em take down big groups on the news before, I believe.” 

“Eh, probably amateurs. We have enough experience with douche-y heroes with powers to worry about some detective gadget look-a-likes.” 

They continued off to drop all the money and gear in their own giant office building, an insurance company owned by one of their own members, Daithi. It was a good place to plan and keep everything. And being a private company, it was allowed to do many things away from government watch. They all individually had house arrangements in the higher part of the building so it was a good dual building, and so they could keep a tight reign on their business and criminal activity supplies. That, and having their own business made it easier to learn the ins and outs of other companies before stealing from their weak points without getting caught. It was handy. 

They spent the rest of the night planning their entire week. Back at the apartment with Dan and Phil, Phil was finally coming back to consciousness, leaning up, drowsily. “Ow, oww… Where…?” 

“Shh, Phil, you’re back at your apartment. Everything’s okay.” Dan tried to sooth the waking boy, gently petting his friends head. “Well I mean not really… They got away, but we weren’t really the best prepared honestly…” He chuckled slightly, helping him to sit up right on the bed. 

“What?! Gahh that sucked! That guy sneaked on me! Not fair.” Phil pouted, holding the back of his neck where he had been shocked. 

Dan laughed, “Phil, bad guys don’t play fair. This isn’t some video game.” He took a look to the back of Phil’s neck to check out the mark. Thankfully it wasn’t too bad, purple reddish small marks, nothing that looked bad in the long run and would fade eventually. “I tried my best, thought he would’ve shot me, but he merely escaped and I let them get away. Sorry.” 

“No, it’s fine… I’m glad he didn’t shoot or hurt you.” Phil gently wrapped his arms around him for a moment, seeming Dan wasn’t the only one who had been concerned for the other. “Wait!” he pushed Dan back after a sudden revelation. “I just remembered!! I wrote down the license plate number!! I kept some notes in my supplies!” 

“Well that would’ve useful earlier, wouldn’t it, Phil?” Dan seemed only slightly annoyed. 

“I mean… Yeah, but it slipped my mind…” He made a quiet nervous giggle. “Erm, well, anyways, shouldn’t we call the police about this?” He suggested. “I had to lift the black cover over the plate and everything while waiting for you. Unscrewed it and everything. They may have not noticed it, so we can check in with the cops!” 

“Fine. I’ll call to see what we can do. I want you to not stress yourself too much for now.” Dan concerned, and Phil nodded. Dan lifted himself up to see what he could do for now with the information they had. He still felt awful that he couldn’t do anything to stop them, but Phil’s safety was his main focus after all. 

Time passed and it wasn’t before long that the thievery was reported to the media and every media system was on fire, for the business that was stolen from was a potential presidential candidate, and people have started a big fuss over this happening, a large split in the population cheering on the criminals and a nearly same amount of people basically boiling with anger. It wasn’t long before news passed along to Mark and Jack who were not in the area, and spreading around quick on all forms of social media along political blogs and accounts. Not only that, but the same people have been breaking down smaller businesses all over California and a few neighboring states. 

“Looks like things are even worse when we don’t have our oh dear amazing heroes,” The man’s taunting voice cooed through the phone, “It’s like you guys leave for one day and then bam, shit storm. No wonder they call these cops useless here.”

Mark chuckled at the Australians silly tone and wording, “Har har, Ross, it’s not like I knew I would cause a pseudo apocalypse in my absence, boohoo.” He moved the phone from his ear for a moment in his chuckling, and then put it back up to his ear, “Well I’m sure if I was there, I’d give ‘em a good beat down, they wouldn’t be such cocky criminals then! Anyways, how’re… Uh, yanno.”

“I’m sure you’d save the day, Obi-wan.” Ross seemed to take a minute from this before speaking again, “They’re doing alright… I’m grateful for that. Hollys been crying a lot recently, many mixed emotions happening to all of us. I can’t say she’s the only one though, but I’ve been not trying to stop work despite all this…”

“Hey man, don’t work yourself too much if this is affecting you, you know?” Mark worried tone conveyed even through the phone. 

“Easier said than done, mister winter break.” Ross scratched his neck, walking around his property, kicking around some things just to do whatever while talking. 

“I’m still doing some side jobs during my vacation time, tuition fees are killer.” 

“I get that though. Free time taken by the capitalist need for money. Especially being an artist, not the easiest thing to grab.” 

“Oh Ross, you fight that Government system.” Mark sighed, when he heard his mother calling him inside. “--Hm? Oh, Okay mom…! I gotta go, keep me updated on any condition changes… Okay?” 

“Yeah, don’t worry. I’ve been working away right outside the hospital to check a lot. Even using my portable laptop, I’ve just been in an odd mind with all this.” 

“I have to been thinking a lot… It’s hard to think about much else. Well my mom will get annoyed if I don’t hurry… See ya.” After waiting for Ross to also say goodbye, he hung up and went inside to help his mother finish cooking. While cooking, he thought about contacting Jack to see how he’s been doing so far… After cooking was done, they ate and spent the night doing some family time stuff, and Mark called up Jack, but quickly put the idea off, remembering he was in a different time zone at the moment. 

Coming home was very refreshing, but he couldn’t help but feel a slight ache in his chest knowing he was away from… Him. Well, when he’s back, he has a lot of work to clean up what’s happening at the moment, so the chances of running into him are heightened with that… He should be more joyful for being with his family right now though, even having his busy brother with them too, it was nice. So he shouldn’t dwell too much on everything else going on. But even telling himself over and over didn’t leave his mind at ease. Just maybe, he will call Jack after all. 

On the flipside, Jack had been visiting family as well, calling up his friend to see if he was currently nearby, maybe he had also visited home. He stood outside, watching a light flurry fall down, it was really beautiful… After some ringing and leaving a message, he realized Daithi was probably busy and couldn’t go out anyways. That’s when coincidently he received a call from… Mark? Man, he wondered what time it was over there. He picked up the phone call, “Hey, Mark.”

“Ah- Hey, Jack. Sorry for calling up… I haven’t been sleeping well and thought I’d just check up on people instead.” Mark was sitting in his bed, adorning pajamas and ready for sleep, at least physically, considering his mind clearly wasn’t. “Ross called me up earlier. Heard that Arin, Suzy and Dan are doing alright. He told me he tried to call you but you didn’t pick up.”

“That was Ross?? It came from an unknown number… Probably should get some updated contact info.” He laughed quietly, head staring up at the sky as he talked, leaning against the sheath of the outdoor walls. “Also it’s good they’re alright… I’ve just been overactive in the mind, and… I even heard about how crimes are growing a whole lot too, talk about everything pouring down there. It’s like the new Ireland, huh.” 

“Oh, the raining jokes, something I, a poor American can’t relate to,” Marks voice poured a joking and slightly sarcastic tone, “I mean, unless you’re in Florida. I went there once for Disney World, it was so much rain. And let’s not start about the storms too.” 

The conversation went on some time, and they spent some time just venting about everything going on, well at least the things they could discuss, talking about visiting home for some time, just filling in on how everything is going on. Mark found himself rambling with Jack, and Jack noticed that Mark had become silent after some time. 

“Mark…? Mark, are you…” He was worried for a moment, but then he heard a very quiet breathing sound… Oh, Mark had fallen asleep. Jack felt a smile creep on his face, and he felt rather peaceful about it. It was rather cute that he fell asleep while talking… It was probably quite late over there anyways. And listening to his breathing left a warm, calm feeling in his chest. “…Goodnight, Markimoo.” He spoke his nickname sweetly. He spent a couple more seconds there, before finally hanging up, to let him sleep now. Once his phone was away, he just stayed out in the nice cold, crisp air. Being in L.A. for a while made him miss the weird feeling of Ireland’s weather. There was a weird feeling in his chest, thinking about Mark… But he shrugged it off, just thinking his mind was being silly again. Oh well. He decided it was finally time to go inside, since he didn’t want to freeze, and should probably go inside anyways. He really wanted to feel free in his hero persona… But being in Ireland while the people you know also know you’re here, could cause unneeded amounts of suspicion… So it would be good to refrain from all that. Well, anyways, time to actually get something done today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Dan and Phil. I've been planning on adding them for a while and I've come to enjoy them quite more than I have before. Also, Vanoss and his friends are bad guys?! Honestly I made the choice purely out of my enjoyment of their GTA videos so I thought it'd be fun to have them as bad guys, but I have many things planned for them in other ways too~ Also if I got any names wrong I may have I forget things 0-0
> 
> Hope you enjoyed, I've already started Chapter 8, so I'm 100% sure it wont take as long as this one took. Please don't be mad you had to wait that long for this trash, sob ;0;


	8. What... Are these Nightmares?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is Felix really who he claims to be? And, Mark has been feeling conflicted since Arin came back, and suddenly he's been having off dreams. What do they mean? What does the future hold for these shattered heroes?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!! I know I said I'd be adding something big next chapter so I guess this is pretty big and interesting? Thing is there is another plot point I wanted to add and when I realized how awfully lengthy it got, I had to break it up into multiple parts. I'm just refining Chapter 9 which in the unfinished part I was going to put in this chapter, shouldn't be too long now! <3

'Help…' He tried to cry out, but the only thing that came out was a pathetic whine, and struggling, heavy breathes. 'Please… I… I can’t breathe, don’t leave me…' The trembling, blood filled mouth gasped, causing himself to gag over the blood 'I don’t want to die…'

“Ayyy!” The Swedish man’s voice rang loud despite the music playing in the apartment, wrapping friendly arms around Mark who had just arrived to a small gathering Felix was having at his apartment for the last day of break. He wasn’t a student, but he was a teacher and invited over his friends, just to spend some good time with everyone gathered. “What held ya up?” 

“I don’t know, probably walking up a million flight of stairs to get here. Your elevator isn’t working here and I didn’t realize you lived so far up.” He laughed, and then handed him some bags, “Oh, and brought some snacks, so that’s a plus.” He walked in afterwards and shut the door behind him, making his way into the apartment. Felix wandered off into another group, and then Mark scanned the place for someone he hasn’t seen in a while. It wasn’t gigantic but there was quite a few people he didn’t exactly know. When he noticed Jack, he quickly headed that way, and was greeted with a tight embrace, and Mark chuckled. 

“Mark! Where the hell ye been? We’ve been waitin’!” Jack exclaimed, stepping back and patting his shoulder for a moment. 

Mark scratched the back of his neck, “Ah, sorryyyy! I was honestly… Well, I was just visiting Arin and them before I came… I kinda got distracted, it happens. But I’m here now! Ready to party! Get drunk!”

“Thought ye couldn’t drink? Besides its midday, why would ye get drunk? I’m Irish and I probably wouldn’t even do that.” 

“I’m joking, I’d fall flat dead if I drank any alcohol probably. My jokes are so dry and flat, don’t mind me, hah.” 

“Well you’re definitely right about that. Your radio talk show host voice is the only think keeping you from not soundin like you just got your head smashed open and you’re still walkin’ and talkin.” 

“What kind of analogy is that?” 

“I didn’t say my wordage was any better!”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” He laughed again, sighing. “Speaking of drinks, I am gonna get something to drink. A juice maybe.”

“Alright, can you grab me a water too?” Jack asked, “You don’t have to, just since you’re over there.” 

“Yeah, sure.” Mark headed over to grab a soda from the cooler, and also grab the water that Jack requested. But as soon as he turned, there was an unidentifiable figure standing before him, a male of a large stature, hair barely past his ears, a light brown, but Mark shook his head trying to focus less of his features and more on why the hell he was here. He towered over Mark, at least 6’3” compared to Marks 5’10”. Doesn’t sound like the biggest difference, but he could tell this guy was angry and meant business. He wasn’t really intimidated due to his strength, but demonstrating it here if they were to get into a fight was rather dangerous and could put himself in immediate danger. “Uh… Hey man, you doin’ alright?” 

“I know who you are.” He smirked, his large arms grappling Marks shoulders, squeezing tightly. “And I’m gonna make the whole world know too.” 

Mark was clearly alarmed, and quickly made attention of others to what was happening. “Dude, get the hell off!” Mark was shocked by how strong this person was. Another superhuman perhaps…? Fuck, it’s painful…! Mark winded his fist back after pulling out of his grip, and punched him square in the jaw, grabbing the attention of everyone in the apartment. 

“Mark?!” A few people exclaimed out of confusion, no one seeming to recognize the guy he just punched. 

The man seemed unscathed though, brushing the blood that dripped out his nose. “You’re not getting off that easy.” He smirked broadly. He swiftly uppercutted into Marks gut, and then he wrapped arms around his neck. Felix was the first to spring to action, as was Jack and a few others, but the guy had already rushed to the open door to his small pseudo balcony/perch, and before he knew it, both of them were falling down. He had two choices: This guy dies here and Mark only gets injured, or he saves the guy who attacked him… Either way, his superhuman abilities are bound to be shown to all. This is the worst situation he could be forced into right now…! 

His contemplated it, and finally decided when out of nowhere a green flash flicked in front of his eyes and before he realized what was happening, SepticSpark had zapped out of seemingly thin air to hold him “W-Wait, the guy…!” 

SepticSpark was carefully gliding down somehow, as if using his electromagnetic force around him to gently make them both descend, “Don’t worry. He’s not even real.” 

A loud crowd gasped as they watched the other guy fall and burst into robotic parts and what seemed to look like fake blood. 

“A robot…? What the hell is happening?” Marks arms clung to Septic, his face flushed. He never expected this… SepticSpark was quite strong, his eyes gazing over his bare arms… He quickly mentally slapped himself, also noticing a costume change. Interesting.

A few moments later they were on the ground, and SepticSpark placed Mark down, “You alright…? Need any medical attention…?” Septic brushed his soft fingers against Marks cheeks, noticing slight signs from almost asphyxiating, but he seemed to be conscious and still well. Septic didn’t realize himself gazing over Mark… Wait. Why was he gazing over his roommate of all people? 

Mark seemed clearly flabbergasted and blurted out, “I-I’m fine…! I’m sorry for the trouble, I, didn’t expect to just get attacked and I had no means to help myself and-- I’m rambling, hell… Thank you.” He blinked a couple of times, almost awkwardly. Septic seemed quite amused by how weird Mark acted. Maybe he wasn’t used to seeing superheroes, how cute. Well, Septic, try not to get suddenly and creepily infatuated with your roommate who doesn’t even know it’s you. 

Suddenly everyone was downstairs in the panic trying to see what was happening. “Oh-- Well, I guess that’s my cue to leave!” Septic blurted, patting Marks head for a moment. “Rest for a while, alright? Lay down, and don’t do too much moving around. Goodbye, Mark!” He quickly waved off and disappeared in a green flash. Everyone was there trying to put together what the hell happened, and Mark found himself just standing there staring where he had gone. 

How did he know my name…? Mark tilted his head, seeming a bit confused. Oh, right. He must’ve heard it being called out from the balcony. That must be it. He was shook out of his trance when Jack and Felix rushed up to him, quickly searching his person. 

“Are you alright?? Holy shit, you got lucky that guy came out of nowhere to help…!” Felix pointed out, saying it in a bit of an odd tone, but showing he was glad Mark was okay. “And the... Robot thing… I wonder where it came from. I didn’t invite it inside… That’s so odd.” 

“Definitely…” Jack commented, “Why would it attack you, too?” 

“I’m not sure! He said he knew some secret and then attacked me like I was some criminal!” Mark brushed off his clothing now, just trying to focus his mind. “It was so worrying… I was wondering why it took nothing to a punch… And the blood looked a bit fake too, so I was suspicious…” 

“Should we call the police?” Jack suggested, “Maybe we’ll find who made this thing.” 

“That would be the best course of action.” Felix interjected, and then stepped away to make the call. Once he was out of earshot of everyone, rather, he called up a friend. “I found Warfstache.” 

“You did? How did you lure him out?”

“The Septic hero saved him. The first one that would show up. Also, he is basically the only one who could’ve made the robot I built step back the way he did. I’m positive it’s him. His strength and way of speech is too closely tied. I’ll give you more information later.” 

“Good. I will be waiting, Kjellberg.” 

He nodded, and then pulled out a different phone to actually call up the police. He knew the police would have no way of tracing the robot to him, a simple college professor with no record of engineering, so he’d be written off and he didn’t leave evidence. So he confidently called them to report what happened, leaving a few tidbits out of course. 

As a result of what had happened, everyone had to stay to talk with the police and finally they ended up heading home, the police confiscating the destroyed robot for investigation. Mark and Jack headed back together to their dorm. 

“Can’t believe I’m saying this, but I missed my dorm bed. Honestly I was sleeping on my mom’s couch this week, hah.” Mark talked, and after walking a few more steps, he felt dizzy, and almost toppled onto the ground. The worried Jack quickly reached out and grabbed him, trying to help him to sit up. 

“O-oh jeez, I guess that thing took a bit out of you…” 

“No duh, Jack… It was kinda a total mecha robot trying to kill me.” Mark replied sarcastically, gripping onto Jacks shirt to keep himself steady. 

“I could just drop you, you know.” He shot back with a witty remark. 

“The question is, will you though?” Mark gave him a smug smile. 

“…If I wasn’t worried for ya damn health, I sure would. You’re lucky this time.” Jack gave him a squinted annoyed look, which only arouse a laugh out of Mark, as he continued to help him walk over and sit on his bed. Once he was sitting down, Jack moved back and sighed. “Need anything?” He offered, wanting to help him still. That quick save gave him a heart attack, he was scared he wouldn’t make it in time… The thought of losing Mark was devastating, he was an amazing friend. Something else ached at the back of his mind, but he brushed it off not wanting to let his mind come up with crazy ideas. 

Mark shook his head. “Lack of air just caught me off… And my gut hurts, hah. Eating anything would cause me to throw up.” He laid down, breathing softly. “I wonder why I got attacked… And what kind of secret that weird robot knew that I didn’t know about myself, you know? Maybe some serial killer made him? Or someone just wants me dead? …Gee, that’s a bit of a terrifying thought.”

Jack sighed softly, reaching out to gently run a hand through his hair. “That does sound bad… After this, I’m pretty sure all your friends will watch after you more carefully, including me. Won’t let anyone get around to hurtin’ ya!” He seemed to be dedicated to helping protect him if needed. 

“No, I’ll be fine… I was simply caught off guard. I don’t want you to stress yourself over me.” Mark tried to not worry him. At the back of his mind, he couldn’t help but think about who could’ve done this. Did… Who… Who knows that he’s Warfstache? Could someone he’s friends with actually be a villain? You never know, so he’ll have to be more cautious. The only ones he could immediately scratch off were Bob and Wade… Jack didn’t seem capable of hurting anyone. He was strong, but hurting people definitely is not his thing. But that could be a guise… No, he knew Jack was off the possible people too. Maybe Felix? It was his house… But, literally anyone could’ve opened the door for the robot without Felix’s knowledge, so he won’t jump to conclusions…

“I’ll still do what I can to help, Mark. Ye never know what can happen if someone’s after ya.” Jack gave him a small smile, and then pulled himself up from sitting on the edge of the bed. “If you can lay on your side, we can just pass some time now and play some games. I got Mortal Kombat X if you’re up for the fight!” His grin was a rather cheeky one. 

Mark shrugged, turning to his side. “Alright I may be aching, but I can make you suffer in this game, hah.”

“Oh, I’m so scared, Markimoo, come and get me when I’m wrecking you with Sheeva!”

“Don’t we all want to be destroyed by Sheeva though?” 

“Wha- MARK! That’s just nasty!” 

“Hey come on, I’m not afraid of sharp teeth, it’s kinda hot.”

“I’m. No, Mark, I’m done with you.” 

“Hahhhh nooo you love me Jaaaacckkkk.” 

“Yeah yeah whatever helps ye sleep at night,” 

“That hits my heart, man. So broken.” 

So the banter continued and then night fell, and the next day was still peaceful after that. Mark had recovered already, but didn’t try to make it too obvious out of suspicion purposes. Then night rolled by and while Mark and Jack were studying and having the TV on for the sake of background noise, there was a sudden news report of an office building being under attack by some gunmen. They realized they had to find a way out without making the other one suspicious. And with that, Jack started, and told Mark he had a friend he was gonna drink with tonight and that he was done with studying. 

“Alright, be safe. Call me if you need a ride, okay? I don’t need you falling off your rockers and getting in a crash.” Mark remarked right before Jack left. 

“No worries! I can’t even drive, I’ll probably call a taxi, yaknow. Seeya.” And with that Jack headed out. Once he was far enough from campus, he pressed the buttons that were attached to his ear gauges piercings, and zip off as SepticSpark. 

Once Mark confirmed Jack was completely out of site, he also slipped out and pressed the button on the rim of his glasses transforming into his own new and improved costume, and made sure to hurry to the plant. Jack arrived first of course, especially with his fast speed, he wasn’t surprised. It didn’t take long for him to find a sneaky entrance, and by then, Warfstache had suddenly appeared before him, following him in. 

“Woo, looking good with the new outfit, Septic~” He slightly flirted, quietly and sweetly as they made their way in. 

“Not the time, babe,” He said, but still continuing with a cute remark hoping it’ll keep him from continuing the banter for now, having to deal with the situation ahead, but he did like the feeling of Warfstache regarding his new outfit highly….

Warfstache blushed gently from being called babe, and chuckled. But he was right, not time to get distracted. They snuck in together carefully, and Septic was the first to step out. With his newly made weapon, a strong metal pole with very good conductivity, zipped to knock one of the guys that was just standing around, and Warfstache followed after, prying out his comically large pink, red and black hammer, spinning to knock a group of em off they’re feet. But before they could do much more, some guy with quick toes grabbed a rather skinny, lanky man with glasses clumsily laid upon his face, obviously not one that could fight back so easily. The robber himself was also rather lanky, pale skinned, and skinny, but he had cold blue eyes and the powerful guns. His speed sort of showed he wasn’t exactly a normal human, and could be more closely related to them. His unceasing nerve of confidence even while up against them was a sign, and very off-putting. 

Not using his powers the right way, of course, and both Warfstache and Septic became more cautious of their actions against what this person could be holding back. It wasn’t too uncommon to have an extremely strong leader with some normal weak people meant to simply fear monger normal civilians, like a power in numbers over power in personal strength. But thankfully these strong brute-headed bad guys weren’t always that smart with this sort of stuff. While they were analyzing the situation, two other guys that they had overlooked earlier, both had guns as well, held it up to Warfstaches and Septics head. They turned to each other for a moment, and basically on cue, they launched to attack. Warfstache went for a punch to the guy’s face, while Septic had looped around and knocked the gun out of his hand. 

But, they weren’t the ones that had control here, it seemed apparent, as one gunman grabbed the punch Warfstache was launching at him, and then other gunman had grabbed ahold of Septic’s ankle, smirking slightly. Warfstache was punched in return by this guy, being shot back into a computer desk completely wrecking it. Septic had been pulled up, and tossed back down into the ground, denting the floors creaky boards. So he did come with backup that may serve as an actual challenge… Well, that just means more fun, right? Warfstache hopped up, rounding to fight again, along with Septic also revving up and back up to gain some ground again. Then suddenly, there was an odd, but familiar laugh resonating behind them, the… The weird hostage with the crooked golden framed glasses suddenly took action, flipping over the guy that was holding him back, and he stomped in a certain place on his shoulders that caused him to pass out, surprisingly. He must know some things about pressure points. And with that, he suddenly pulled off what looked like a very humanoid mask, smirking. 

“How’s it goin’ boys?” The former hostage now revealed who he was, shocking both Warfstache and SepticSpark. 

“Felix?!” They both exclaimed, and then suddenly stared at each other, wondering how each of each other could know him… Unless… Oh jeez. Warfstache covered his mouth, feeling embarrassed. But they completely collected themselves and teared away from each other long enough to look back to Felix, their eyes brimmed with questions. 

“Don’t think you two are the only ones having fun with some goonies. I’ve been finding this group suspicious and was glad I could finally tracked their movements. Now, no time for dilly dallying.” He launched forward, upper cutting the one that had attacked Septic, right in the gut knocking him out of commission, even if it was just for now. Septic also went into action, and spun his weapon like a baton, charging it up and cracked the guy right in the jaw.

The one Felix had escaped from clearly hadn’t been knocked out enough, so Warfstache wound up his hammer, and smacked him upside the head, after barely avoiding a shot he had aimed. His vision must’ve been blurry which explained how he missed mostly. Jeez, these guys got the aim of Stormtroopers. Weird for super humans… Something felt wrong. Very wrong. But Warfstache shoved those worries from himself, and turned his head back to Felix. “I never took you as someone who would try to be a hero. Aren’t ya a simple teacher?” Warfstache questioned. Septic stood there feeling a bit awkward, it was weird that Warfstache knew him. Could he really know who he is without realizing it…? That’s… a weird thought. 

“Hey, I used to be a detective for a short time, I didn’t like working with the office though, and thought I could be a P.I., but I needed some other job to hold me up in the mean, so yeah.” He shrugged, “More of a detective than a hero.” 

“Well that’s sure interesting… Don’t ya think, Septic?” He chuckled, bringing awareness to Septics sudden silence. “Well, let’s take these guys in…”

“No no, don’t worry, I’ll take them down to the police below. You guys go.” Felix pushed them off, “It’s late, go go. You need you’re rest.” 

Warfstache shrugged. They both got out of the building, and headed off.

“Boss… Are you really sure it was a good idea to just let them off thinking they beat us like that? They may get suspicious if they see us again…” The first one stood back up, scratching the pain in his head, but overall he didn’t seem that affected by it. 

“No worries, Jay. I got their identities completely identified, and can tear them down from where it counts instead of a head on confrontation. Besides, as long as they don’t suspect me, I can keep pulling you guys back up and we will run the city.” Felix smirked, seeming rather proud of himself successfully doing all this. “Now break away into normal clothing, the police are stampeding up here. We gotta let them know you… ‘Escaped’, you got that?” 

 

When they had left, Warfstache decided to get Septics attention before they parted. “Hey, Septic, I’ve actually wanted to show you something since you’re back now.” 

“What? Really? I suppose. I’m not in a hurry home anyways.” Septic gave him a patient smile. 

Warfstache was all smiles himself, seeming very giddy to show him whatever it was he was planning. “Good~! Don’t get lost, then!!” Warfstache then jumped from the building and to another, running and jumping from building to building, Septic staying close behind. Speed was his thing, but it was hard to keep sight of him sometimes. Eventually they were out of the city and he was perched on a rather large tree, and he held out a hand for him, “Take my hand.” HE said, hopping from the tree, in a grassy plain area. “You trust me, right? You’ll enjoy this, c’mon.” 

Septic seemed slightly on edge, but he laughed sweetly, and grabbed his hand. “Yeah… Okay, guide me.” He felt really flustered, but also very flattered… Just… Getting to spend time with him was such an amazing feeling. Okay, Jack, calm yourself… You’re letting your heart inflate and overthink everything. They had been walking up a small mountain area, very pretty and forestry, and there was a fantastic view right off the side of the cliff, “So, Tim Drakes twin, where are you taking me?” 

“I tried, man, costumes are hard when literally every hero has already done everything,” He rolled his eyes, laughing softly. “Tim is my favorite robin anyways, so I’ll take it as a compliment. Besides, the whole neckpiece cape is a good fit, eh?” 

“I guess. I never was one for capes. It only gets in the way, snagging that cape is basically immediate injury. Not something I need.” He shivered, almost like it’s happened before, which made Warfstache crack up at the thought of Septic running, then immediately stopping after being snagged and just tumbling over and it was more funny in his head that in actuality probably. 

“Sorry, god, you falling over is so funny to think about. Don’t hurt yourself too much though. C’mon, lovely.” Warfstache switched things back to sweeter tone, and guided Septic over to a ledge on the cliff, a large tree right behind them with an odd shape that made the leafs lean over the edge. Warfstache sat down, feet dangling over the edge, and gently patting a spot down in the grass for him to join him. Septic of course obliged and sat down, and he took a deep breath, “Now, Tim, set it off.” He spoke out, and then there was a sudden cue of music. It was a peaceful, romantically corded type sound, calming and nice. Septic felt his face burn a bright red, and he looked to Warfstache who was cheerfully looking at him. 

Septic was about to say something when fireworks started bursting in the air. Beautiful bursting balls of colorful fire, all over the place, making Septic feel extremely happy over this. Did Warfstache really set this all up for him…? “Who is…?” 

Warfstache predicted what he was going to ask, “Tiny Box Tim, of course. I managed to convince him to help me out with this. Hopefully he doesn’t burn down.” Septic gave a concerned look, and Warfstache only chuckled. “No, I’m kidding. He’s not even made of wood. He’s just like Sam, a weird little magical being. He wanted to help me impress you, so I guess this is mostly him conducting this with me in the back works.” 

“Still it’s… Nice. The fireworks are beautiful. Of course not as wonderful and beautiful as you, though.” Septic turned to him, giving him a very flustered but loving look. He watched as Warfstache face bloomed with a bright pink, and he turned slightly. 

“You flatter me, hah.” He pulled himself to stand up, walking over to the tree that hung over them, hand gliding down its trunk, brushing over a small engraved spot on the tree. “I… I used to come here all the time when I was younger. During the summer, that is. I was raised in Cincinnati, but during the summer I’d stay with my Aunt in the city and whenever she was out, I’d find my way here. I remember meeting a kid who was also visiting here so long ago… I don’t know. Silly memories. I felt compelled to bring you to this place.”

Septic chuckled gently, standing up and walking right beside him, watching as he leaned against the tree, like it was some old friend. Warfstache turned to face him again, and Septic heart fluttering in the pressure of everything happening. Not a bad pressure, but just it was a lot to take in… The fireworks ended, and they were left with the sound of bugs and the woods, with the quiet music still resonating. Warfstache held his hand out then, “Will you dance with me, Septic?” Warfstache requested, his other arm behind his back. 

“You look like you’re trying to be a prince at a ball, you dork.” Septic soft eyes just stared at him, and then took his hand once again, feeling his body suddenly get pulled into Warfstaches chest, a hand holding his waist, and the one that one that held his hand was up in the air. Septic was clearly trying to keep himself collected, while placing his free hand on Warfstache’s broad shoulder, clenching it a bit nervously. Carefully, they started to dance together. Septic felt embarrassed he wasn’t the most graceful on his feet, but Warfstache didn’t seem to mind. The gentle, kind look in his crescent brown eyes poured into him, he wasn’t sure how much more he could take of this. He gently placed his head on Warfstaches chest, just… Listening to his heartbeat as they moved in rhythm, just to feel like this was actually real and not his mind just wandering off again… 

For a moment, it seemed like the hand on Septics waist moved to his back, getting tighter and clingier he noticed, not sure if that was in his head or something… But it was kind of cute. He leaned himself back to look at him again, still feeling their bodies get closer. Warfstache had his face inches from Septic. His heart was in his throat, clingy hands basically dragging each other close for the warmth, and the tight feeling his chest making his mind wild. It seemed like neither of them were gonna move until SepticSpark finally broke any distance they had, when his arm moved from his shoulder to around his neck, kissing him both gently, but there was a bit of a clingy feel to it, like it’s something he’s needed for so long. 

Moonlight shone down on the area like a perfect spotlight at the perfect time, the normally cloudy skies so clear in the dark night, setting up the most perfect scene for them. Everything seemed like it was beautiful and put together, until something snapped in Warfstaches mind, and he was pulling away from the increasingly passionate kiss, and backing away from Septic. “I… I shouldn’t be doing this. Fuck, I don’t know why I thought this was a good idea.” He held a hand up to his head.

“W… What? Why?” Septic felt his inflated chest finally fall like it was popped with a large needle just waiting to burst this moment so tentatively. “Did I do something wrong…?”

Warfstache shook his head. “No, no, it’s me, I’m so… Fuck, I’m so stupid.”

“What the hell ‘re ya goin on about? Tell me what’s wrong…!” Septic clearly demanded answers, feeling slightly betrayed by this sudden change. 

“I… Look, I had a dream, okay?” He sighed, falling down onto the grass, sitting there as if in despair. “More like a nightmare, I… I lost you. And I swear, I have this damn curse on me whenever I dream about losing someone, they… It’s sure to happen. Especially when it’s someone I care deeply for.” Warfstache tried to explain. 

“You had… A dream where I died…? I…” Septic fell to the ground too, looking to him a bit cautiously. 

“…My father… And Arin… I lost them. And even though Arin’s alive, I don’t know… If he’ll ever be himself again… Letting you get involved with me… Romantically, like this… It’s a mistake.” Warfstache cupped his face in his hands, seeming on edge of course, “I don’t want to lose you too… I can’t…” 

“Warfstache… Look, I… Whatever you saw, it was a dream… That doesn’t assure it’ll be true…” He tried to help him not freak out… He didn’t understand completely what he was going through, but…

“It’s happened before though… I don’t think I can make it through another loss… I’d be broken.” 

“…I won’t die, Warfstache. I promise you.” He reached forward and gently moved his hands from his face, “I won’t leave you alone. I won’t let it happen. Okay?” Septic tried to lift things up with a smile, his hand caressing Warfstaches cheek as well. “You deserve to let yourself be happy for once. You got that?” 

Warfstache, on the verge of tears, took a deep breath, sighing gently, shaky almost. “Septic… You have too much faith in me, really…” He nervously chuckled. Septic leaned forward, offering him another kiss, and then wrapping his arms around him to keep him calm. “I’m still scared… But… thank you.” 

I love you… A tear dripped from the corner of his eye, 'I’m fine… Please smile so I can see it once again…'


	9. Be careful of your unconscious mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's always wise to be wary of your mind, conscious and unconscious.   
> The bad guys are getting more scary and deadly, causalities at a way high.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wanted to get this all out before my birthday since I know I'm gonna be quite busy and I have so many ideas to share! I've changed my twitter and tumblr to queerkudo now just so you know, and I share a bunch of art I make based off this story if you'd like to see.   
> I'm posting Ch 9-10 back to back today because I know they go well together, but it would be odd if they were both in the same chapter, you'll see why. Thanks for following the story!

It’s been two weeks since he’s first had that dream and it was here again… Mark felt himself wake up in a cold sweat, god this was awful… He tried to hold onto Septics words. Maybe it was a silly dream representing his insecurities. He didn’t fear many things, but loss was one thing most everyone feared, and he was no exception. His lips tingled, a lingering feeling still there from kissing Septic… It was almost familiar. But maybe it’s just what he felt… A weird confliction between Jack and this… Still quite mysterious other superhuman… But, Jack didn’t know it was him and Septic didn’t know who he really was either… God, holding onto a secret identity was just a crazy burden basically. And while it does seem a bit trivial, it’s for a simple life out of the eye of the public. But… Mark was contemplating telling Jack. Oh… Oh god no. He did consider him a best friend, but after all that’s happened now… He would feel betrayed if he admitted that he was Warfstache, and deeply in love with him, but also someone else! Haha! No, that’s an awful fucking idea, Mark. 

He needed to get up and actually get ready for the day… It’s the weekend… He got up and looked to Jack, to find him still sleeping. That’s weird. He’s usually way up before him. Maybe he just had an all-nighter. Mark yawned and took a quick shower, and headed off. There was no school, so he decided to spend his morning to check on Danny and them… He headed to the hospital, and he was in Danny’s room first, conscious, and thankfully he was getting better. All that was recovering was his body for now. “Hey, Danny. Doing well?” 

“Oh Mark, my lovely, I’ve been so bored around here. I’m feeling a lot better, really… I’m just itching to get out of here already.” Dan laughed, reaching an arm out. Mark chuckled as well and leant in to hug him close. 

“Well hopefully your projected recovery date is accurate and we can take you out for a great day. We’ll get everyone out for celebration~” Mark cheerfully rambled to him. Dan seemed a lot happier now, finding his banter a bit funny. 

“You better hold to that, I need a lot of drinking and friend time after all this shit.” Dan brushed his greasy curls out of his face. “And maybe an hour long shower in my personal bathroom, too is also much needed.” He yawned a bit, “How’ve you been holding up on your end? With school? Or even with Jack? Or your hero friend?” He immediately resorted to teasing, loving the reaction of an extremely flustered Mark. 

“Hush. I don’t know. I’m at a loss for everything… Hey, can I tell you something, Dan?” Mark looked to him, sitting down on the chair that was by Dan’s bed. 

“Oh jeez, that’s not a good way to open up. What’s going on?” 

“I… I had a dream about Septic… He… Died, and I just… Can’t get over it. It’s come true… Well, kinda, every time I’ve had a dream like that, and I just…” 

Dan gave him a soft look. It reminded him of the first time he told him about his dream about Arin, and well… We know how that turned out. No one knows if his mind is still even completely there… It’s a variable of many things at this point that are extremely unreliable… “I’m sorry, Mark. The best thing you can do is… Just take care of him. Don’t let him slip from you, okay?” 

Mark gave him a nervous smile, and then sighed. “You’re right… I will do anything to keep him safe. It’s just… I wish I could get the imagery out of my head. His words… His begging, god… It won’t leave my head.” 

Anyways time passed and they spent a lot of time together, friends showing up and leaving and cycling through. Mark waved off with Danny later, saying he was gonna go eat and get some stuff done. He passed by the room where Suzy and Arin were being held… It was behind locked doors, because last time someone went in there, they tried to attack them, going off… He stared almost longingly through the window. He wanted nothing more than to just hear their voices again… But they were injured, and trapped in those monstrous forms… Mark then left, and picked up some Sonic on the way back to the apartment. 

“Oh, welcome back, Mark. I was wonderin’ where ye went.” Jack greeted him as he walked in, sitting on the floor playing a game. 

“I visited Danny for a bit. I brought some food, and got some for you. You can save it if you’re not hungry.” 

“Thanks!” They went out to eat together quite often, so they knew the types of food the other liked. “And dang, you should’ve told me you were visitin’ Danny! I would’ve come.” 

“Sorry, hah. You were sleeping, so I didn’t want to bother you.” 

“Ohhh, yeah. I stayed up way late last night, it was weird waking so late. I usually never sleep in that much, hah, it’s whatever though. Probably just one of those nights when you need a few extra Z’s.” In all honesty, he slept in with peaceful and lovely dreams of being with Warfstache. But he couldn’t admit that straight up. He paused the game he was just goofing off in, and went ahead and sat down to eat with him. They went on casual conversation for a while. Mark invited Jack out afterwards, saying that Bob had invited them to walk around the park nearby, since it’s been a bit of time since they hung out with school and everything getting in the way. 

It was a nice park, a preserve for wild life nearby, so there were a bunch of simple safe animals also roaming the woodland type park. While hiking up a mountain trail, everyone was enjoying themselves. Bob, Wade, Jack, Mark, and Felix had finally put aside time to just enjoy the outside for once, since usually they spent all their time inside stuffed with work, games, and school. It seemed like a simple day had finally came to them until there was a rumble in the ground, like an earthquake. It wasn’t uncommon, but beyond the forest, there was cloud stack of smoke going up in the sky, and the 5 of them moved to a clear area and found there had been what looked like an explosion in the far distance? And it wasn’t just tiny too, the magnitude of the explosion shook the place from even this far away. They felt a compulsion to check out the situation… They were all quiet until Mark zipped off first. Worried, Jack followed, and Bob and Wade knew it would be foolish to follow. Felix looked to Bob and Wade, and then ran off to follow after them as well. Bob and Wade worried about what they were all off to do… Maybe there was something they could still do to assist this time. 

They had split up into sections, disappearing off in different directions seemingly, both of them trying to lose Felix, even though they had a feeling he knew their identities after that night before where they accidently exclaimed his name… They barely managed to escape into the think forest and hide and transform, and soon they were both off to try to get to the bottom of this…

Septic showed up first, especially with his speed, and found that it was a destroyed Power plant, which would most definitely explain the magnitude of the explosion, and he realized he need to help save people stuck inside. Warfstache soon showed up soon, to help start pulling people out of the crumbling building together. 

While trying to help people, one place was almost completely collapsed, and a young woman was trapped under a large amount of rubble, something Septic couldn’t help get off with how heavy it was. Warfstache stepped in and lifted it up, giving Septic the chance to lift the woman and lay her down, instructing another civilian to check for her injuries. They were educated people in a mixture of science and biomedical procedures, so he didn’t have a lot to worry about. Firefighters were at the scene, trying to get rid of the fires, while Septic and Warfstache were grabbing people. While Warfstache was searching for other victims, suddenly another bomb had gone off, causing the building Warfstache was in to completely fall apart. Septic didn’t waste any time to zip in and grab him, but the both of them got tossed by the blast, stumbling and tripping when they slammed into the ground. 

“F-fuck, theres more?!” Septic cried out, his body shaking slightly, looking to Warfstache. “You okay…?” 

“Y-yeah, I’m just a bit shocked though… We can’t stop now, let’s go…” Warfstache dragged himself up, “Try to locate any more… I’ll continue to get anyone out... You’d be a lot quicker searching for more possible explosives…” This nice day went quickly into a hellscape… His worry of his dreams were coming to life. 

“True… I’ll search everywhere that’s accessible now, no dilly-dallying…” And with that Septic rushed back in, the building being quite huge that the two explosives probably weren’t all they intended on using. Jack has slight training in disarming explosives, besides, from the area of explosions, the bombs themselves seemed to be a triggered response, and were probably of a simple composure. But that part must mean they were in harder spots to find. Jack did manage to locate one, and unveiling the cover, he was right, they were simple ones. Using a small Swiss army knife, he disarmed it, and continued his search. 

Warfstache had found the building was now cleared, and then figured it would be best to find Septic and also assist in disarming. But while searching thoroughly, he heard another one going off all the way on the other side. His chest sank out of panicked feeling-- What if Septic…? Holy shit. He will not allow his nightmares become a reality…! He quickly found his way around the mess and indeed found SepticSpark, sprawled across the ground. “Septic…!” He fell down and lifted his head up. He wasn’t in the direct line of explosion, but close enough to be impacted still. Warfstache then lifted him gently in his arms. He was still alive, still conscious since he hasn’t lost his hero form, but filled with pain and unable to move or talk. Warfstache got him out of there of course, when suddenly a group of men dressed in all black and odd, peculiar mask which made them stand out more than blend in like the black clothes would… Interesting aesthetic choice though. 

“Knew that’d lure ‘em out, boss.” One commented, slightly nudging the one in the middle that appeared to be their boss, perhaps. He was shorter than the rest, but he had a build like a former army man, so it would only make sense he’s considered the top dog of them. For identity sakes, Warfstache guessed inspecting them... 

“What do you want?” Warfstache glared, arms holding tightly to Septic. He hadn’t realized he was aware now, looking up to the man that held him in his arms, his face flustering red and feeling pain wave through his body still… He turned his head slightly to look at the men that gathered around them. He struggled, and Warfstache let him down once he realized he was moving again. 

“Ready to get rid of you pesky rats forever, that’s what~” He smirked, the group pulling out guns all together.  
Septic felt dizzy and in pain, but he needed to fight back. “Back off, assholes. A couple of guns are not gonna hurt us,” He spat at them, seeming annoyed that they are causing all this trouble. 

They went ahead and started shooting anyways, full force. It didn’t take much for Septic to avoid the bullets but the amount of them made it crazy. He pulled out a weapon, a metal pipe. He spun it around, and charged it up with his electricity powers, smacking, and beating them down, mostly shocking them until they’re down for the count. Warfstache on the other hand pulled the large over dramatic Amy type hammer, and used it as a deflection of bullets, and then charged forward to whack the guys upon the head. When that was done, they hadn’t realized that one of them had… Disappeared? Before they had realized it, the one who was presumably the boss, was missing. And then, he had dropped down, dealing a blow to the back of Septic with a giant baseball bat, and also dealing a blow to the back of his head. 

Warfstache jumped, and watched this. He froze for a moment and then wrapped his hands around the guy’s neck, shoving him to the ground, squeezing tightly, “You motherfucker…!” He seemed angry, strangling him... But he didn’t noticed there was another shooter, standing quite a ways back, so Warfstache hadn’t seen him when he stood up until he felt the bullets breaking through his body. A bullet, straight into his back. 

He managed to look back, trembling slightly, but before he had the chance to fall, Septic was charging at the shooter, resulting in three bullets into Septic’s chest, and then he hopped up, wings sprawling from his back. He dropped down onto Septic, digging his large feet claws into his shoulders to start pulling him up. Before he could get off the ground though, Warfstache hopped in, round housing the creature and tossing him away. In a sudden fit of rage, he rushed over, wound up his hammer, and smashed the things head open. Again. And Again. And Again. He felt himself boiling over so badly, he had to collect himself to quickly rush back to Septic, who was suffering alone on the ground.   
“O-Oh god… Septic?!” He reached out for Septic, his eyes tearing at the sheer amount of bullet wounds in Septic’s chest. “No…!!!!” He kneeled down, having him in his arms, shaking, feeling the quiver of his heart strings tugged at in his chest. There was so much blood. Holy shit, he was bleeding so much, and now he was completely covered in blood too… He fucking knew this would happen… Why… He’s so fucking scared, “Please… No, please, fucking Christ, I…” His eyes welled up with tears. Warfstache’s hands trembled holding tightly to him. Help… Septic tried to cry out, hand grasping Warfstache’s clothing, but the only thing that came out was a pathetic whine, and struggling, heavy breathes. Please… I… I can’t breathe, don’t leave me… The trembling, blood filled mouth gasped, causing himself to gag over the blood “Don’t leave me…” Warfstache muttered, staring into Septic’s trembling expression, his wide blue eyes desperate and slowly fading. “I-I’ll get you help, just hang in there…!!” He struggled to pull him up again, he was terrified, and he didn’t want to lose him… He couldn’t deal with that again… He tried to make it back to where all the fire trucks and ambulance were since they had tracked quite a ways from the main concentration, but Warfstache’s body was failing to move, locking up, both from injuries and the mere painful flashback of memories that came from the first time he thought he lost a partner he cared deeply for… It racked his mind before he stumbled, feeling his own body weaken past the point of not being able to function, the effect of those two bomb blast really taking a toll of their bodies now. “Goddammit…” He collapsed, but his arms would not let go of Septic.

Warfstache cried out for help, hoping someone would hear him… “Warfstache…” Septic seemed to find his weak, scratched up voice. His hand, reached up, sweetly brushing a hand down his cheek, softly wiping a tear Warfstache had not realized now poured down his face. “Don’t cry…” He muttered quietly, “I’m… Scared… But I… Don’t want you to cry…” His shallow breaths made it hard to talk completely together, his mind scattered still. “I… Broke that promise… I’m sorry… But, I… I want to see your smile… I don’t want to remember your broken expression…” Septic slowly but managed to definitely choke out. But before Warfstache could say another thing, Septic’s arm fell, and he was no longer responsive. 

“No… No, fucking dammit…! SEPTIC! GODDAMMIT, I CAN’T LOSE YOU!” Warfstache’s vision got blurry, he wasn’t sure how much longer he could stay conscious. “You… You promised, dammit…” He noticed a white light gently fluttered over Septic’s body, and slowly his disguise faded. His bright green hair fell to its usual dull-ish brown with a few greys, his clothing also changing to everyday clothes, and that’s the moment that Warfstache finally recognized him. That’s when the gravity got even worse, and everything finally fit into place. “J… Jack?” And with this revelation, his chest sunk again, his whole reality and life setting in and he was freaking out. “Jack… JACK! JACK NO, YOU CAN’T FUCKING GO LIKE THIS!” Warfstache let himself change back, his flaming red hair falling down onto his face, the dark brown/black color it was, shaking. His tears fell, as he pulled Jacks face into the crease of his neck. “Please… No… I… I love you, Jack… P-please…” Mark begged, probably soaking Jack’s neck in his tears and the intermingle mess of blood from the both of them, Marks body failing to move on him… He could prevent this if he could fucking move, but no… Every part of him gave in, he couldn’t do anything… If only the shitty regen powers he did have worked faster and he could… Actually help… He was so powerless…


	10. Warfstache and the other side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Turmoil, emotions and breakdowns-- Will Mark be able to keep himself together?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops. There may be some even more fun inclusions to the story in the future.   
> Huehue.   
> <3

There was complete silence, but it wasn’t long before it was broken by the screams of Mark. He shot up, in a sudden full panic mode. This alerted Wade who was in the room over, as well as Bob who was currently with him. They both headed over to the hysterical man, who was out of bed, freaking out, yelling incomprehensible things, and seemed to be completely unaffected by the sudden presence of his two best friends. They had trouble separating it from mere hysteria or a panic attack, begrudgingly deciding to grab the man that was already half out the door. “NO! L-Let go!! I have… I have to fucking help him!! I’m going-- I’m going to hurt the person who- God, FUCK! OFF ME! GET OFF! I WILL END YOU!” He seemed shambled in what he was yelling, his thoughts not being together. He has been out for a little bit now… 

“Mark, calm the fuck down, dude, it’s us.” Bob tried to shake it out of him, “You’ve been out for a while, everything’s okay.” 

“No, goddammit! Jack… Jack, he’s… I fucking let him…” Mark’s awful rage turned to welling tears in his eyes, and his resistance became limp in his friends hold, and they backed off, as he fell to the ground, his body shaking. Bob and Wade gave him a look like he had lost his mind for sure. “I… I held Jack’s body, he was… Oh god,” He felt his world being shaken and toppling down. 

“What are you saying…?” Wade tilted his head, confused. “Jack’s fine, he’s in the hospital right now recovering like the rest of the explosion victims.” 

“Wuh… What?” Mark’s tears had not stopped, but he looked up to him completely confused. “N… No, that… I saw him… He was injured… He was bleeding out, god, he stopped moving… I saw it, fucking dammit…”

Bob and Wade exchanged looks again, just as confused Mark must be. “Look, let’s get you back to the bed, and we can talk about what we saw, okay?” Bob said, gently grabbing Marks arm. He guided him back, Wade following, and then they both sat down beside the bed. “Wade and I followed you and Jack to the plant. We tried to stop Jack from following you, not wanting you to accidently reveal yourself, but half way there we lost track of both of you.”

“Finally, we caught up.” Wade picked up the story, “But it was an odd scene. You and Jack were there, both injured and seemingly just passed out. We were kinda worried ya’ll were dead, but thankfully that wasn’t the case. We took Jack to an ambulance that was there for the others, and then we took you back, cause, well, we didn’t want to accidently put you out there as your regen abilities were already kicking in and doctors might be wary of that and god knows what they’d do.” Wade chuckled slightly, but collected himself quickly because he remembered the most likely inappropriate context of his small chuckle. “Uh, sorry. Um… We can take you to see him, if it helps.”

Mark seemed to be trying to understand the whole story before replying, trying to come up with any possible way he could’ve survived. “He… Got stuck in bomb blast with me, and got shot multiple times… How would he make it?” He decided to start there.

“We only found him with burns and some debris from the blast. No signs of gunshots or awful damage. He may have those burns forever though, at least some of them.” Bob told him what they had been informed by a doctor examining him and their own observations. “I’m not saying you imagined anything, but… That’s just weird.” 

Mark couldn’t think of any possible reason of this being a reality. But… Hearing that Jack alive made everything so much better. Could it be he also dreamed of Septic really being…? Well… He’s not even sure of that now. Either way, Jack was alive… A wave of relief came over him, laying back in the bed, before sighing softly. “Can you grab me some extra clothes…? I’d really like to see him.” 

With that, Bob and Wade let Mark change into new clothes and they grabbed some food before driving up to the hospital. During the drive, Mark spoke up again. “You mentioned me being out… How long was I asleep?” 

“Just like two days. It was really worrying, we figured we’d take you to the hospital if you didn’t wake up soon. Not like you’ve been out for weeks or months or anything, it was just. Worrying.” Wade shrugged, and Mark nodded, looking back out to the window, letting his mind drift. 

How much of his memory was real and not? Small flashes came in his mind… The creature… He remembered hearing the cracking and shattering of its skull under his extreme power and hammer, he remembered just going, and going… Maybe that was also a fake memory. The thought of him made him feel weird. In all of his time being a hero, he’s never killed anyone. He didn’t feel like it was right, especially with his unfair advantage in battle. The only time he had used his full strength were against people who could handle it, a fair battle… But when Mark saw him fall to the ground like that, it was like a cord connecting his morals and rage snapped and he… Ugh. He didn’t want to think about it. It kept making him feel some chill, creeping into his mind like it would take over, and he was annoyed at himself for the pass of the memory. He wondered if Jack would remember anything…

They finally arrived and Bob had parked, looking over to Mark finally. “You seem dazed. You shouldn’t stress yourself so hard if it’s causing strain on you, Mark.”   
“I suppose… I just don’t know what’s real and what’s not now, and it’s so off-putting. I’ve always tried to be analytical about things, but my memories are betraying me here.”

“You can be very emotional, Mark. Just keep yourself in check, okay?” Wade commented, and they all headed up together to see Jack. 

The young male receptionist, greeted them at the counter, “Hello! Welcome, is anyone here in need of medical attention? OR do you need any assistance?” He asked, pushing a clipboard towards them on the desk, indicating them to sign in. 

“We’re just here to see Sean.” Wade said after signing in, letting the other two also do so. “Sean Mcloughlin. He was admitted here two days ago after the bombs incident.” 

“Ah, of course. You we’re the two friendly gentleman that helped us ID him and get him a spot in here.” He said referring to Wade and Bob. His eyes peered to Mark, who didn’t look as up as the other two. He looked exhausted, his hair a bit greasy, not very well fitting clothing, and just an overall exhaustion engulfing his being. “Well, just finish signing in. Mister Mcloughlin has been moved to 21A, which is the next floor and one of the first doors to the left off the elevators. We moved him since he’s stable now and needed more room for critical patients. He may be sleeping, so try not to disturb him if he is too much.” 

“Thank you so much.” Bob said, and then they finally headed to the room they were told to. 

 

As those three headed their way up, suddenly in the main entrance of the hospital, Felix came out of the blue, and rushed to the reception, gasping and panicked. He looked almost torn apart, and completely lost. 

“Felix? What the hell are you doing here, I’m working?” The receptionist easily recognized him. 

“PJ… Jay was never checked into the hospital, was he…? He never arrived?” Felix said, panting, looking at him with terror. 

“Uh… No, why would Jay be checked in? I’ve just organized a lot of the files today, I haven’t seen his name. Why are you so panicky, jeez?” 

“Then it’s true… Fucking hell…” He placed his hand on his forehead. “I… I was at the power plant explosion and… I found him, dude… Jay was fucking dead. Like, his fucking face had been smashed open by something… I knew what he was doing at the power plant and I didn’t dare stop him, and… Now he’s dead because I didn’t stop him…” 

“What…? Oh… Oh god, it can’t be… Why? Who would’ve…?” 

“I know who… I can’t say, but I will take care of it… God, I can’t believe I let this happen… Everyone else was uninjured, and the evidence and everything was left behind…”

“I see… IF you need any help… Tell me, well, when I’m off my shift actually.” PJ gave him a sympathetic look. He was friends with Jay too, so hearing news that he had just… Died? Was heavy hitting. “I… I have to work, you do what you need to do.” 

“Yeah… I’ll see you later. I’ll probably get together the team to start an ambush on ‘em, so you’ll definitely know.” And with that, Felix left, head down, hands stuffed in pockets, scurrying out of there. 

 

Mark and his friends were in the room now, opening the door to a half awake Jack, staring blankly up to the ceiling, just seeming zoned off… “Jack…” Mark muttered, looking to him with a really heavy, hurting heart. 

Mark’s soft voice broke Jack out of his trance and he peered over to him, and softly grinned at them. “Mark… I thought ye’d never come ta visit me…” He chuckled gently, “Guess school can catch up to ye at times, its fine… Yer here now.” He seemed glad to see him, but a bit doozy at the same time. Floaty, maybe. He was mostly just tired… 

Mark hesitated, but gave in to his desire to rush over and embrace Jack tightly into his arms, leaning his head into the crook of his neck, just… Silently affirming to himself this was real, he was breathing, he was here in front of him… “You’re okay…” 

“Ah… Yeah, I am… Gee, I didn’t think ye’d be so worried for me, I’m truly flattered,” Jack slightly teased him for, but he wasn’t ungrateful. “Don’t start crying on me or anythin’, ya? Ya know I don’t do well with emotions. You start crying, I’ll cry, everyone’s a mess, hah.” He laughed. “Thanks for visiting again you two,” Jack turned to address Bob and Wade now, who greeted him, but didn’t really want to bother Mark and his moment. They knew how fragile he is right now, still knowing he wanted answers, but probably not wanting to ask him while in this form. They assumed Jack had only seen Warfstache with him at the bomb scene, and Jack also said so from his slight recall of events, but they could tell he was leaving certain things out.

“I won’t cry, loser… I just was scared you’d… I don’t know. I remember trying to find out what had happened and I got lost and just… I’m glad you’re doing fine though.” Mark lied, but only for the sake of not giving away what he remembered and his identity and all that. “Just glad to see you.” He said, taking a step back now. 

“Glad to see ya too.”

So they took time for everyone to gather thoughts, talk about what happened, and generally just catch up. Not that there was a lot to catch up on besides the events of the explosion, but they made busy with talk to make their visit worth it. Soon a nurse showed up saying visiting hours were over, and that they had to leave. They parted ways after many hugs and a few jokes, and they were back home not too long later. Mark was staying with Wade for now, since he had an extra room. He needed to just have some support with him. But later that evening when Wade was already asleep, Mark transformed and left, deciding he was going to visit Jack in his Warfstache self. Maybe he could get more answers. And maybe other reasons too. He headed off, and climbed to merely the second floor window with Jack earlier, and gently knocked on the window. For a moment, nothing, then suddenly the curtains were pushed aside and a shocked, nightgown wearing Jack was surprised by the sudden visit. He quickly opened the window, allowing him to step inside. “Warfstache, how did you find me here…?” 

“I helped you get here, so I asked the people yesterday. I couldn’t get to you till now.” Warfstache said, looking to him. Jack felt a bit emotional, and he leaped at the chance to fully embrace him, trembling slightly. Mark moved his arms to hold him closely, his breathing a bit shallow. 

“God… I thought I’d never see you again. I… I don’t remember anything that happened… It’s a blue or fire and blood and I saw you, and… I thought… Something awful…” Jacks voice became shaky, his mind flashing with memories of blood, and… What he felt like death… He thought maybe it was Warfstache who had died, but everything from that night was all in nonsense flashes. Jacks warm tears gently stained Warfstaches collar piece, his arms never wanting to release him. 

Warfstache felt like things go even more complicated now, but with Jack not remembering anything… Maybe he was right. He almost died… Did he prevent it somehow? That was a crazy thought… His immediate focus then shifted to the emotional man before him, thinking about what he had said to him earlier about not crying… Maybe he just really wanted to break down, and refused to do it in front of them? That may have been why. “I’m fine… I just remember find you being tossed aside from an explosion, and I swore I was so distraught… I’m so happy you’re doing well.” He gently moved Jack away from him, gently wiping away the tear-stained face of Jack. He had to lie about him what he recounted, but it was for the best for now. Until he understood more about what happened. 

Jack nervously smiled up to him, his shaky hand holding Warfstaches hand that was on his face, squeezing gently. “I’m so happy seeing you…” 

Warfstache felt his heart flutter a bit at his cute, fragile demeanor right now. He was so used to the snarky silly Jack, but this was such a cute look for him. He took this moment in his grasp and gently leaned in to press his lips to Jacks, Jack melting into it immediately, tilting his head feeling the rush of calm air and loving feelings swell in his chest. The kiss was held for a time, their bodies holding close to each other. This kiss turned more passionate for the first time, Warfstache gripping Jacks waist, getting a bit more into it than they should in a hospital room at the dead of night. 

Soon Jack was separated from Warfstaches gentle lips, and he was a bit out of breath, clingy arms not wanting to release him. They stood in favor of silence this time, just holding onto each other like nothing else mattered. A few more pecks followed, but it stayed rather sweet after that. Warfstache wanted to spend much more time with him, but a nurse entered the room surprising Jack to turn around, and before he knew it Warfstache was gone, and his window was just left open. 

“Is everything alright? I can turn on the AC if the temperature bothers you, please leave the windows closed.” Said the young woman as she headed over to shut the window. 

“I’m fine… Just needed some fresh air. Sorry for that, it won’t happen again.” He said, still a bit flustered.

“Oh, well good then. If you need anything you know you can alert staff at any time. Do try to get some sleep though.” 

Jack nodded, and sat in his bed. “Thanks.” The nurse then left, and Jack laid down, feeling a bit flustered still. God… It was nice to see him, but he couldn’t help but feel that the linger of Warfstaches hands and lips on him… He mentally smacked himself, just trying to organize his thoughts in all of this. Try not to dwell on this too hard… He just shut his eyes, and decided he just needed to sleep, his body starting to ache again from too much strain. It’s not like he did a lot, but walking around his room was too much for his recovering body. It would be best if he just slept and got better… He needed to join Warfstache back out on the streets, he doesn’t know much of what’s happening in here…

Warfstache had to leave quickly, feeling slight remorse just leaving Jack there like that… But he had more plans for tonight. He wanted to test a theory, if his memory wasn’t truly failing him. If Jack really is Septic… He shouldn’t show up if theres any activity tonight. He knows Sam would inform him, and if Septic doesn’t show… He may be right. Anyways he called upon Tiny Box Tim, popping up happily, “Marky~! Hi~”

“Hey my little biscuit~” He smiled, petting the top of Tim’s head. “Do some surveillance of criminals for me, aight lil guy?” 

“Yessir!” Tim zipped off to search, and Mark was left to sit there and just… Think. He felt sort of bad doing this behind Jacks back, and it’s totally an asshole move to be aware of this and not even let him know… But he… Just couldn’t bring it up like he planned to. He was currently on top some random apartment, and held his knees to his chest, just watching the city life go by. Out of the blue, he heard footsteps creeping up behind him. Weird. He turned his head suspiciously, noticing a man in a fancy suit that almost resembled a mafia like costume, and an animal mask. Owl? What a weird choice. 

“Mister Warfstache, yes?” The man inquired, holding a smartphone in his hand, as if reading some database-- Which, would probably not be a bad guess. Mark pulled himself up, feeling his cape flap in the wind. 

“What do you need?” He stated his question with a cold, suspicious tone. 

“Hey, just a guy with a job. I was… Hm, looks here like I was hired to make sure you’re no longer… ‘In action’, let’s say.” The guy said with a broad smirk. 

Warfstache merely scoffed. “You really think you can take me out alone, looking like some furry mob boss? Ya gotta be yanking my chain here, and I didn’t even wear any necklaces today.” 

“You’re funny. Charming, even, my client wasn’t wrong. But no jokes will help you here, kid.” As he spoke, two others stepped out from the shadows, dressed similarly, a pig mask and a Jason mask on the two. They held giant guns, and the owl one also did. Mark hesitated a moment, almost stepping back, but feeling the ledge behind him… This was an extremely tall building… If he fell, it wouldn’t kill him, but it could come to a disadvantage to his body. 

“Who’s your client?” Warfstache inquired, knowing he mostly likely won’t get a straight answer, or an answer at all, but maybe they will, as a ‘parting gift’. Couple losers with guns can’t get him down, so may as well stall while he analyzes the situation. 

“Once we have you wallowing in your own blood, we’ll let you take off with that information.” He seemed way too cocky. “Open fire, boys.” The three of them started open firing straight to him, Warfstache flipping his cape up. Soon they stopped, and found that he wasn’t there? It was a cape and dummy. Peculiar. “Search for him, immediately.” 

“Yes sir.” They went to searching the entire rooftop, when he suddenly showed again, beating down one of the men with his hammer, and then showing himself. 

“Looks like furries aim is truly high and remarkable, eh?” Warfstache teased, and when they were ready to fire, sudden noises busted through the roofs stairwell and these two rather tall boys with weird gadgets showed up, seeming excited. 

“We found you! …Wooahh, is that the real Warfstache?” The shorter of the two, with big baby blue eyes peered admiringly in Marks direction. 

“Not the time, Phil…! We found the thieves!” The other one exclaimed, pointing at them like some anime pose, “We finally have our chance to capture you!!” 

The two men masked men left stared at each other and laughed. “You idiots. Looks like were gonna end your pointless chase here. We wanted to keep you alive, but you’re burdening us a lot more than we anticipated.” The owl one said, and they started shooting, temporarily distracted. But when the gunfire stopped, they found their bullets had been deflected by a gigantic shield suddenly protecting them. Warfstache took the time to sneak behind the shield in their confusion. 

“You guys are going to get yourself killed, you need to leave!” Warfstache warned. He recognized the brown haired one from his campus, but mentioning that would be bad. This other one must be his partner he had mentioned. What was his name again? Oh yeah, Dan. He remembered because it was the same name as Danny, so it wasn’t that hard. 

“Looks like we barely managed to save you from a barrage of bullets there actually. Oh, this is so exciting!” Phil said, smiling broadly, more than he should in the presence of two criminals. 

“Well… Fine. No time to banter. They want me dead, so help me take em down, will ya? I’ll take the owl, you two get the pig.” 

“Alright… GO!” Dan started, deactivating the shield and they rushed. Warfstache hopped to the Owl, and tackled him, knocking the gun aside, and punching his face. It didn’t take too long to realize however that… The mask… Wasn’t even a mask. It was his actual face? His body then almost doubled in size, and wings that spread out a large span suddenly grew, and his wide eyes seemed rather insane. The Pig masked also did a similar tactic, but he didn’t grow wings, just in size he was intimidatingly large and terrifying. 

“We were informed of your abilities… Well, at least some of us heeded them,” He looked to his passed out friend. “But we’re not the only murderers here, and you need to be punished, so we’ll just be helping out someone who needs revenge.” 

Dan and Phil stared at the man like he was crazy, not understanding what was happening really. But Warfstache felt a grappling reality. So… He… He really did kill someone… Oh god… His head felt dizzy, and his vision was fuzzy. The owl took this as an invitation to step in and deliver a killing blow, but Phil dived in, launching up his shield again, as soon as the owl smashed down his large arms. Warfstache was freaking out. “No… N… No, you’re wrong, I… I wouldn’t… God, no… stop, stop! Fuck…!” It wouldn’t be the first time he was absolutely tearing himself apart today. Phil looked to his with worry, but he decided it was more important to stop the criminal in front of him. Using his shield, he managed to launch the owl off it, throwing him off far away. 

He was clearly taken back and shocked, but he managed to fly back over. “I will fucking end this now.” He seemed serious, coming at them with full force. Dan and Phil managed to dodge these creatures coming at them, but barely. They seemed armed with strength but not much speed. Phil pulled out his weird futuristic looking gun thing, and shot at the owl. It sent a shockwave that should have paralyzed him, but it appeared to only cause a minor inconvenience. Phil then let the mechanical parts lunging out of the bag grabbed the owl by the neck, and holding him up. It seemed to stop him for a moment, but the owl used its clawed feet to rip down the metal cover and dropping himself. Suddenly he had Phil back down to the ground, claw stepping over his chest, pushing down with heavy force, Phil struggling to breathe. Dan watched this happen while also trying to fight off the pig… He took a quick run around and use his machinery backpack to windup a punch, shoving off the owl, seeming to be down for the count now. 

But while not paying attention, the pig made his round again, and Warfstache had seemed to collect himself enough to grab the pig and toss it down off the roof with him, and they were now falling. Warfstache punched his lights out, and then grabbed the pig with all his might, managed to grab a ledge of an apartment balcony. It was straining from all the weight, so he didn’t take too long to launch himself back up jumping between the tight spaces of two buildings, and dropping the knocked out pig on top of the owl, both down. They slowly weakened back to their humanoid forms, and everyone was relieved. Dan and Phil shared a hug, and they both high-fived Warfstache. “It was suuuuuch an honor to work with you.” Phil gleefully spoke up, almost like he was fangirling. He knew Dan was probably fangirling on the inside too, and just trying to keep cool like he usually tried. Not that he was too good at it though. 

“Yeah, it was truly awesome just jumping off like a madman there and having the ability to come all the way back up with a simple punch and lunge!” Dan beamed, but then coughed a bit, “Ah, but are you okay…? A moment there you were freaking out… Did you really…?” 

“I…” Warfstache chuckled. “Honestly, I don’t fully remember. I thought watched someone I truly love basically die in front of my eyes, and it’s… Blurry.” 

They both gave him a look that showed a slight bit of understanding, reserving judgement from not knowing the full situation. Suddenly, Phil felt really dizzy, and he fell, Warfstache barely helping lift him up from his sudden drop, but holding him up now. Dan seemed panicked. “Phil?? God, are you okay??” He squeaked when he finally noticed the blood absorbing through his suit.

“O-Oh hell… I can’t… See straight…” Phil moved a hand to his pale face, breathing a bit heavily. 

Warfstache gently placed a hand over where the bleeding was happening, a mark left from the claw trying to crush him. “This isn’t good… We should get him to a hospital…” 

Dan nodded furiously and terrified, Warfstache offering to carry him, since it was his fault that his sudden freak out let this happen. They started heading towards the hospital, when Phil started talking again, looking up to him. “Huh…? I don’t… I don’t feel anything now… That’s… Odd…” Phil muttered out. 

Warfstache stopped for a moment, thinking how random that really was. He placed him down, and zipped down the front of his interesting suit, to examine the wound. It was… Closing on its own? What the hell? “You have regeneration?” 

“Wha…? No, I… Don’t remember it… I got injured a while ago, this didn’t happen…” Phil said, looking oddly to his body’s weird reformation. 

“This has definitely never happened before… You have regeneration, Warfstache. Maybe you…?” Dan started to suggest, before being cut off.

“That’s… Crazy, I don’t think it works like that…” 

“Well whatever it is, I’m fine… I mean… Except for the blood covering me… OH! WE LEFT BEHIND THOSE BAD GUYS! WE HAVE TO GET THEM TURNED IN NOW DAN!!” And suddenly Phil was off as fast as he could. 

“Oh jeez, Phil… Well, I don’t know the explanation, but who knows. I have to go follow him before he gets himself hurt again. Thanks for helping us get them, we’ve been trying to apprehend them for weeks.” And with that, Dan rushed after Phil. 

Mark was left alone again, and he sighed. But then he wasn’t because soon Tim returned to his shoulders, leaning on Mark. “Are you okay, Mark? I found these two to help you after I saw you in trouble, you seem off though…”

“You, lil biscuit, you’ve returned. So you were the one that helped tip those two off. Thanks for that. And I’m fine… Just… Coming to terms with things. I’m just in a bit of shock, you know?” He laughed slightly. 

Tim still worried, “Don’t be so harsh on yourself… Call it a day, and sleep in, okay?” 

“Yeah… You’re right.” Mark turned back to his normal form, his bright red hair falling back to its natural black color, and his normal clothing, blending into the streets now as he headed back to Wades place, not wanting to worry him if he woke up and didn’t see him. He snuck in and tossed and turn with this turmoil boiling in his mind, until his groggy mind and tired body finally lulled him into a sleep.


	11. Will you let me lose myself?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhhhhh I know I said I would post it on my birthday (wooo b-day I'm legally an adult now :'D) but I didn't realize I wouldn't be able to post it until 11 at night!   
> So sorry for that, I had a long day and was surprised by how many people came.   
> I got a plushie fox, and some cash, and just a good time spent with my friends really. I'm way more introverted than I remember though because I feel so drained after all of it but I still love my friends U_U  
> Anyways I'm having a lot of fun with just messing around with concepts and the story seems a bit darker than my original intentions like I started off silver age comics and then divulged to golden age comics lmaooo, whoopsie daisy. 
> 
> Well I hope you like this chapter and I will be working hard on updates <3

Jack was finally released from the hospital today, and he was actually glad to be back in the dorms. The Hospital can be lonely, since it’s basically living alone with strangers who show up and make sure you’re still alive and eating. And it was nice to smell something that wasn’t the odd smell of cleaning supplies and too many people cramped together. Mark was making sure Jack felt comfortable on his return, and even offered to help him with taking care of the large burn on his back. From his left shoulder blade across his back to the bottom of his right hip, a large burn scar enveloped his back. So, it required care for, but Jack felt he would be a bit too ashamed to let Mark do that for him, especially since it’s now caused him to be insecure of his back… Ugh. He sighed, just folding his clothes that were at the hospital back into their drawers next to his bed, humming some new song he was really into. 

“Well, that’s not very polite, Jack. I think I’m deserving a better title.” Mark teased, leaning over the dresser, giving him a soft look, compared to Jacks baffled look. 

“Huh…? What’re ye goin’ on bout--” Jack was cut off by Marks reply.

“I’m no heathen. I mean, I’m a bit delusional and messed up, but I’m lovely, too, right?” Mark obviously was sarcastic and joking, but he was being this way because it was just so nice to have Jack around again, it was awfully quiet without someone to annoy on his off days. 

“I- Mark, yer an idiot!” He playfully punched him, tossing the drawer shut and stepping back, “It’s just a song, ya fuck.”

“I know~~ I listen to them too. Just seeing your reaction is too cute.” Wait- Did you just call him cute Mark? Dammit, he mentally slapped himself not thinking of how he could recover. 

“Oh, so you think I’m cute now, Mister Fischbach? The flattery, it’s getting to me~ you shouldn’t be so kind just cause out the hospital.” Jack decided to tease in return, turning around to get the rest of his things back into place. 

“I’m just being friendly, love.” He jokingly called him love, though if he wasn’t himself right now, he would totally be saying it in a completely serious context. But that may compromise him. “Anyways, need any help? Or should I just make some lunch?” 

“I’ll be fine, thank you.” Jack informed him, practically done with everything anyways. Mark shrugged and went into the kitchen to cook up some lunch, since it was kind of late in the afternoon his return, and food was definitely in order.

Lunch was made and they ate, and Jack was now on his bed trying to figure out how to take care of his scar like how the Doctors instructed… He signed exasperated like, and Mark wondered in, Jack feeling slightly insecure to the point he grabbed his blanket it and held it up to his chest. Mark looked a bit worried, and spoke up. “Are you sure you don’t need any help? I really don’t mind, you know. We’re basically best friend’s dude, no need to feel insecure.” Mark offered. Jack wanted to protest, you could see if with every fiber of his being… But he couldn’t exactly have flexible arms up the wazoo to accomplish this himself. 

“Fine… Please, Mark.” Jack placed the blanket down, a bit nervously. Mark has seen Jack shirtless plenty times before, but seeing him a bit insecure and cute like this sort of knocked the wind out of Mark, but he didn’t take long to clear his staring and not be a creep. Mark sat behind him, looking over the burn mark on his back. It honestly looked awful… He couldn’t help but blame himself for this, even if it wasn’t his fault technically. It was a lot better that he was alive with a burn and not dead with three gunshots pierced through him. So… That’s awkward way of comparing. 

Mark grabbed the bottle of what was probably some special formula burn cream, and poured it into his hand. Then he gently started rubbing it onto Jack back. Jack visibly shivered from the cold cream and Marks warm, tender hands gently caressing his back. Mark was very good with his hands, he knows personally since that time Mark had given him a massage with those miracle hands. That was one of the other reasons he protested; He really didn’t want to end up enjoying this way more than he needed to, and he knew that would end up anyways. Jacks face was a dark red as Mark’s hands felt like they were piercing his back and feeling so wonderful… He had to hold a few shaky breathes that dared to come out and make this entire situation literally the most awkward encounter ever. When Mark had massaged him before, he had basically moaned under his touch, and it was so embarrassing… It was also the slight thought of not having any touch he would really consider ‘intimate’ for such a long time making his mind rush like he was going insane. Oh god… Jack, stop thinking of those things when your roommate is just doing you a favor… 

“You okay? This doesn’t hurt, does it?” Mark questioned in worry from his sudden complete silence, and quiet breathing. He wanted to make sure he wasn’t hurting him.

Jack was sudden broken out of his trance, and he shook his head, refusing to turn and actually look at Mark. “No…! It doesn’t… It feels just fine, don’t worry… Just a few sensitive areas, hah…” Oh god, his heart was racing for some reason and he couldn’t calm himself down. 

Mark noticed by the way Jacks body moved he was definitely enjoying it in some way. But he didn’t want to say it to make him freak out that Mark is literally doing his best to make this enjoyable even for Jack. He knew Jack liked his massages, so he made this like pseudo massage while doing this task. Mark just kept going for a bit to make sure it was all rubbed in. Jacks mind wondered, suddenly slipping into his imagination where his hands moved from his back going lower, and to the front of him, reaching lower as his lips and slight scruffle of a beard brushing down his-- Oh. Jack. Jack what the fuck. In the middle of all this, Jack hopped up like a cat that just got spooked out its mind, “I-I got to go to the bathroom, sorry!!” Jack urgently ran to the bathroom, slamming the door and almost immediately falling to the ground, heart pounding, mind racing, and god… Mark was his friend… But now he wanted nothing more than to just… Let Mark have him all over. He needed to sort himself out. 

Mark was kinda shocked by the sudden change from Jack. He walked over to the bathroom, “You okay…? Sorry if I did something…”

“No, I just really needed to use the restroom… F-feeling a big queasy is all! No w-worries!” 

“That only makes me worry more… Well, take your time…” Mark headed to the kitchen to wash his hands off, his mind also totally wrapped around the thought of holding and touching more of Jack… But that was weird. Even with the weird thoughts going on, every one of those thoughts were overwritten by the complete guilt and regret and underlying boiling anger that was building constantly. He felt at fault, and that built up anger in his chest that felt like it’d burst at any moment. He thought taking out his anger in the heat of the moment back there at the Power plant would help… But it only made everything so much worse. This stupid thing just wouldn’t leave his mind. 

He shook his head to try to think about the present moment. It was weird that Jack ran off like that. Maybe he felt way too uncomfortable to let it keep happening… Don’t want to make their friendship anymore awkward than it already is at the moment, though. It didn’t help his immense feelings for Jack and Septic finally being smashed together at the realization of them being literally the same person, his whole world was like a topsy-turvy wonderland of fuckery in his mind. 

Anyways the next day rolled around with a few more awkward confrontations between Mark and Jack, Jack being the more awkward of the two and Marks mind just filling with possibilities, but they were all just hurting his head to think too much about it. It was mid-afternoon and there was a knock on the door, the two unsuspecting of who it could be. Mark was taking a turn at the game they were playing together right now, so Jack said he would answer the door. Once the handle was turned and door was opened, Jack was almost tackled to the ground by a very clingy Danny. 

“Danny?! When did you get out of the hospital?! Man, you didn’t even tell us!!” Jack chuckled, squeezing his friend tightly in a hold, excited to see him. Mark from the other room in earshot heard this and immediately paused the game to see. 

“Just got out today, hey. I wanted to surprise ya, why the hell would I tell you and ruin it?” Danny’s eyes then peered from Jack and saw Mark approaching him. “Ay! Join this gay ass hug, dude.”

Mark busted out chuckling, and wrapped his arms around Danny and Jack, just so glad to see him again. “Ah, we’ve been just starting to think you’d miss everything going on!”

They all separated, and let Danny into the dorm room finally, and they gathered around but the TV that still had the pause screen on, just sitting down on some cheap furniture. “Sooooo, what shenanigans have I missed?” Danny leaned over a bit, examining them trying to find if they changed anything recently.

Jack and Mark looked at each other and thought for a moment. “Well, not a whole lot, ‘xcept I got a nasty scar from getting caught up in that explosion from the power plant.” 

“What? Oh shit dude, I saw it on the news from that little TV in the hospital rooms. Sorry that happened.” He shrugged, “Can’t believe you didn’t even let me know, Mark. You passed by multiple times.” 

“Sorryyyy… I didn’t want to worry you, and you wouldn’t have been able to see him anyways.” Mark apologized, scratching the back of his neck. 

“Ah, true. I just remember hearing all the panic from outside my room and being worried by all these people being brought in, can’t believe I didn’t know Jack was one of ‘em. Are you feeling better?” He turned to ask Jack. 

Jack nodded. “Of course! Bit of a scary experience, but I’m alive and well. And we’re glad you are too.” He smiled. 

“Well enough of this sappy boring talking, ya’ll wanna go out and eat? I’m dying for some food that’s not hospital food, I swear.” Danny stood up, stretching out his back, arms up in the air. “Besides, we can finally hang out together again. Been a while, now, huh?” 

“Of course, lemme get my shoes and we can head out.” Mark said, and Jack also went to grab a jacket real quick while Mark was getting his shoes on. Everyone was ready now, and headed out to see what good places were open. 

They did a lot of decided and finally planned on some pizza together, Mark suggesting it since he had seen it last week but everyone was either busy or recovering, and heard it was good. They got one of those XL pizzas, this place made those gigantic pies that were ridiculously huge, but also amazing. It was enjoyable to finally have everyone okay, talking casually and it felt like everything was normal for once. Which was rare for them at this point, since literally normal was a foreign concept to them as of late. But it was so nice for this breather, and it being spring was a perfect time for rebuilding themselves up a sense of normality. 

Once they finished eating, they decided to continue their banter as they left to wonder around really without any aim. There was a long park pathway where people just ran their dogs around and had kids just burn off their energy and it was just generally a large wide space and a pretty place, with the trees finally having full bloom along with flowers and all that typical park stuff. 

During their walk, Mark noticed a familiar face out of blue. Oh…! It was that Dan guy again, and he seemed to be helping a cat from out a tree. Hah, stereotypical scene every hero needs to go through at least once. It was kind of funny. 

“Dan, don’t crush it…!” Phil’s voice squeaked, really worried the mechanical arms would hurt the kitty.

“Calm down, I’m not going to kill it. Its bein’ a stubborn bastard, maybe that lady shouldn’t have tried to walk a damn cat…” Dan grunted from annoyance, finally being able to grasp the kitty. “Hey, look…!” Dan started to carefully pull the cat down, when it started to freak out and sorta completely freaked out Dan and he stumbled backwards, the cat falling with him onto his face, attacking him and scratching him before running off. “God fuckin… Oww…”

Phil was worried for him, but the sudden urge to laugh was not kept a secret, and he was bursting out giggling, and leaning down. “Some animals are just very attest to you. Seems to be the animals that are most like you.” He chuckled, holding a hand out to help his friend. 

Dan rolled his eyes, not commenting on Phil’s lack of faith in his totally perfect animal skills. Yeah. Totally. 

Danny with Mark and Jack turned to them, curious. “Who’re those guys?”

“Woooah, Mister Sexbang himself has been out of the loop too long clearly.” Mark teased, “They’re some new hero faces. They’re some British boys. ‘Unno how long they’ve been around, I remember meeting the brown haired one of campus before. That one’s Dan, and the others Phil.”

“Ah, that’s cute. Seems they use all those weird gadgets. I’m offended one of them totally stole my name though, man.” He joked, and they continued walking on their way since those two were busy in their own shenanigans. “Any other fresh meat I haven’t met?” 

“I don’t know, I’m usually out of loop on hero stuff. I’m sure Brian could fill you in on everything you missed, he wouldn’t want you to stay confused. Can’t have hero expert himself falling behind.” Mark shrugged. “I’m not some crazy cool hero like you, I just know what I know from leaving the TV on in the background. Newscasters have some weird giant boner for heroes so it’s not odd to hear some new shit going on, romances, deaths, and identity reveals, yadda and so on.” 

“True… I did find some weird stuff going by watching the news too much. And knowing who they are, just all the scandals that are in the dark is just beyond me.” Danny amusing bantered with Mark.

They both noticed Jacks odd silence, and turned to him. “Uh, you alright, dude?” 

Jack seemed broken out of a trance, as he turned to Mark who had tried to grab his attention. “H-huh? Oh! Yeah, I’m fine. I just don’t particularly care much about hero stuff, so I don’t have an opinion.” He shrugged. 

Mark felt a bit of suspicion hearing that, but stayed quiet about it. “Well, most of them are over hyped anyways.”

“I’m shocked to hear that from you, you know how news stories are all over your relations with Warfstache, Jack.” Danny brought it up, smirking almost deviously. 

“W-what? They report about that stuff? Jeez. Okay, fine, maybe I care about one. And you, Danny. But uh, different ways. Uh. Fuck.” 

“Pfft yeah I know. Just find it weird you of all people have no opinion when you were clearly caught kissing one~” 

“What?! I never kissed him!” 

“Yeah yeah, sureee.” Danny placed a hand on his hip, finding this so amusing. “They are all over these romances like I said, Jackaboy.”

Mark was just laughing a bit at Danny’s words, and Jack punched Marks shoulder. “Quit laughing! Jeez… He just saved me a couple times, is all…” Jacks face was a crimson red, looking away from them. 

“Well no need to lie, we’re alright with whatever you do. Warfstache is a good guy, you guys are cute, man. Makes me jealous, I just need a hot girl to save out of nowhere now and I can have my own romance,” He found it funny, but being kinda dramatic. “One day I’ll find a beautiful woman kidnapped by some King Kong lookalike, and then bam. Love story. We’ll get married on some beach. Hey, if you and Warfstache ever got married--”

“Woah! Don’t ya think that’s a bit much? I’d have to learn who he was for real if we were to pursue anything more… Wait, why am I discussing this with you?! Dammit, Danny.” Jack turned away, “So done with this conversation, I swear to god.” 

Danny nudged Mark teasingly and he also rolled his eyes out of Jacks eyesight, and Danny was just laughing his ass off. “Well, one day you two are bound to finally be together whether you expect it or not~” 

“Are ye tryin’ ta hint at somethin’ that will go right ova’ my head again?!” Jack seemed rather annoyed, though he knew Danny was only joking around and just trying to have fun. He sighed, collecting himself again. “Let’s talk about somethin’ other than silly romances now, please?” 

“Fine, fine.” They continued walking down the path, and they decided to finally take a break, sitting on a bench and just goofing off like friends hanging out do. 

Everything seemed to be fine, until a young child’s voice noticed something in the sky. “Mommy, there’s a big bird up there!” 

The three of them who were in earshot of the child were curious, and immediately noticed it was not a bird, and coming right down to the ground. “EVERYONE, RUN AWAY NOW!” Danny cried out, a swift transformation into his hero form, guarding Mark and Jack and staring intently up to the creature. It was an eagle looking Chimera, dropping to the ground in an easy pose, its large claws digging up the dirt and grass under him. People were quick to flee the area, but the creature had its eyes set on Mark. 

Mark felt a glaring, angry revengeful stare tearing him apart from the inside. He was clearly angry… And he wanted revenge. On Mark? He couldn’t exactly think about what it could be… “RUN, YOU TWO!” Danny said very seriously. Jack had taken off now, and Mark had just turned when suddenly Danny was shoved half way across the park with the smack of the creature large, tough wings. And he used his foot to latch onto Mark, the mere size of the claws uncasing his entire torso. He clearly tried to wiggle his way out of this, seeing there was still too many people that hadn’t fled yet to just transform here. It didn’t help that the Eagle had a tight grip that made even him with his super strength struggle to break free. 

“I’ve finally got ya in my grasp, dear Mark, yes?” The creature had a strong British accent, and large yellow and animalistic eyes, it was truly an unsettling sight. “Or should I say… Warfstache? Heheh…” 

Marks eyes widened hearing that name, and that’s when he realized. Theres literally people out to kill him that know who he is. This just made his life a lot harder that he thought would happen… Now all these other events finally make sense, piecing together that someone was out to have him erased permanently. “You… You can do what you want with me…” He had a worrying feeling what this could mean for his friends though… What this could mean for… Jack. “Just… Please, leave my friends alone…” 

“No worries, I’m not getting paid to eliminate them. They’re not stone cold murderers like you, boy.” The creatures grasp tightened, and Mark gasped, feeling the air escaping his lungs, his breathing heavy. 

So someone out there is out to kill him for what he did… Well… In all honesty, it didn’t make him any better than the bad guys he’s supposedly fighting off, right…? His mind seemed to be putting him down. Maybe this is what’s been waiting for him. This is his retribution for his actions… And he seemed edging closer and close to accepting it. He’s such an idiot… His head fell, and he just stared down. The creature seeming rather pleased in his loss of spirit. 

Ready to finish it off, the creature was then cut off when SepticSpark appeared, ripping out his weapon, spinning around the metal over his head, and whacking out the eagle, knocking it aside. It was forced to drop Mark, and limply fell, and then looked up to Septic, staring at him. “Septic…” Marks voice mumbled, looking to him softly. 

Septic turned to Mark, giving him a gentle, but worrisome smile. Marks been a target for attacks often, so it came to really make him worry about why these people have him on some shit list… His distracted eyes got lost on Mark, and totally forgot about the creature who had rubbed the blood off his mouth, and then wacked a strong one to Septic chins, causing him to fall back, and then Danny was back after being shot off like that, his arms transforming into their elastic form, reaching out, smacking down on the eagle, and clinging to the ground, the eagle creature now trapped under the binds. Or so, Danny thought. The creature managed to transform his mouth into an eagle’s beak, slamming it down into his arms, and Danny screeched, ripping them back quickly. 

On Marks end, it seemed like something in his mind that had been suddenly triggered. He stared at Septic being punched out like that, and it absolutely filled Mark with anger. Before he could control himself, he hopped onto the eagle, landing a blow to its face. A second. A third. Before he realized, he was wailing angrily on this creature, and he had already passed out, falling from his creature form to what was probably his natural form. Septic watched this display, and grabbed Marks arm as he was winding it back, “That’s enough!! He’s already out cold…” Septic freaked out, gripping his arm tightly. A large bruise started forming on his cheek, his eye also swelling up, but it wasn’t the worst thing. “Please, calm down…” Septic seemed to plead. 

Mark was out of breath now, really wanting to punch this fucks face in… But… He dropped his arm, and Septic gently pulled him into a hug, holding him close in his arms, “Its okay, Mark. He’s not going to hurt you, okay?” Septic tried to talk sense into him, not realizing Mark had freaked out like that seeing Septic being hurt again… It was like something else taking over, an impulse, a… Scary, terrifying murderous one. He felt like he was the monster here… His arms clingingly held Septic in return, his arms gripping as his clothing to latch onto. 

“I’m sorry, I… I panicked, I didn’t know what to do…” He moved back, now after holding onto him for probably longer than was acceptable. He looked up to Septic with a sad look. “He hurt you… And my mind just… I don’t know.” Mark said, his hand gliding across Septics jaw, examining the bruise. 

Jack felt his face brighten in color when Mark touched him so tenderly like he did. It was so reminiscent… He pulled himself back into his ‘character’, and chuckled. “This is nothing… Just caught me off guard is all…” 

Mark stayed for another moment, but his mind was just consuming him again, and suddenly he got up, and started running off. Septic stood up, confused, but Danny gently grabbed his shoulder. “I think he’s just heading home…”

“I don’t know what’s gotten into him recently… I’m scared.” Jack muttered, looking to Danny.

Danny shook his head. “I wish I could tell you what’s going on in that enigma. That’s your job for now though. Make sure you get back to the dorm first, so theres no suspicion, yeah?” 

Jack nodded, “Well that won’t be hard. The hard part is trying to make sure Mark is okay. And to cover this bruise, hell…”

“I’ll ask if Holly can go over, see what she can do maybe.” 

“Really? Haven’t seen her in forever. If she can help me with this problem, her company is more than welcomed.” 

“Just… Be careful, yeah? And watch over Mark.”

“I will.” And Jack zipped off at his extremely alarming speed, making it back way before Mark hopefully. And he could just say that he go here only moments earlier… He figured his best bet for now was to hide in the bathroom, and he could wash up in the meantime. 

Once he finished up with a shower, he noticed he hadn’t heard Mark come inside at all. That was worrying. Danny sent him a message that Holly was too busy to help him out, but he had come up with his own plan. He had some foundation, not that he wore makeup really; he had it for Halloween when him and Mark had together used it to make fake wounds and to blend the blood and stuff into their actual skin. It took him a while to find it, since it was stuffed all the way in the back of the cabinets somewhere. Then he grabbed some sunglasses he had, and figured it would help conceal things a bit. He just didn’t want to accidently reveal himself over a dumb bruise. 

Jack was really worried. He checked the whole dorm for any sign of him sneaking in quietly, and clearly that was not the case. He then realized… The roof. He headed up the stairs to the roof, and opened the door that lead to the roof, and surely that’s where he was, just sitting there quietly by the edge. He remembered the first time Mark was seemed to have an emotional breakdown, he escaped up here alone, it being late at night. It was the first time they really had one of those deep conversations together. Now, Mark just sat there watching the sunset fall over the horizon, past all the buildings and everything going on. Jack quietly walked over, and sat beside him, holding his knees up to his chest, not saying anything. 

Mark glanced to him for a short moment, and then sighed softly, laying his head on his shoulder. He didn’t comment at the sunglasses or his blotchy looking skin, because he knew why. Jack felt himself fluster a bit, but let him lay there, while also leaning his head in. He also gently grabbed Marks hand, just wanting make sure he was okay. Mark squeezed his hand gently in return. “Do… You ever feel scared… Because you feel like you’re losing yourself as time goes on?” Mark proposed a question, his gaze staring out still. 

Those words filled his heart with worry, but he could see it. Marks strange behavior was definitely affecting him. “Maybe.” Jack returned, “But then I remember that I have all my friends who are here to pull me back down if I ever lose myself in the sky somewhere.” Mark chuckled very silently at Jacks words, but he was right. He realized Jack was saying he would always be here to ground him if he ever lost sense of who he really was. They were a simple string of words, but they really did help some. He just really hoped these impulses wouldn’t cause him to do something he normally would never ever do… And that was the scary part. But… For now, he was consoled with Jacks words and presence, and he just smiled. 

“I’m glad.” Mark responded, “Thank you.”


	12. Hospital Blues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mark fell down sick, but crime around the city is in no way calming down with recent events....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright I hope this wasnt too long to come out with!   
> Also for those of you that enjoyed a Smutty Reunion, I'll be making a second part to that soon, and it will be up hopefulyl by next week! :D

“Hhhe… Hhhhha…” Mark felt the innards of his nose feel like they were being tickled and pricked at, until he finally sneezed loudly, making a grossed out groaning noise when he found the snot trailing from his nose to his arm. “Fuckin’ gross…” He muttered, rushing to grab a tissue and wipe it up and blow his nose, his head feeling heavy and his nose all stuffed. 

“Ye doin’ alright, Mark? Sounds like yer dyin’ over there, I don’t wanna have to call an ambulance up here.” Jack chuckled, following behind him.

“Har har. I got sick. I think it’s from sitting out there in the cold yesterday. The weathers getting better, but at night it’s just too cold for that stuff until summer comes.” Mark spoke, soon after having a short sneezing fit. “Fuuuck, I literally feel like my heads going to implode and I already took my meds…” 

“That’s no fun. I’m shocked though, didn’t think idiots got colds.” 

“I swear Jack, I will beat you up.” Mark chuckled nasally, and Jack just laughed at him.

“Yeah yeah, whatever you say.” He rolled his eyes, and then wandered over sit back down, Mark following him. 

“Anyways this sucks… I’m trying to focus on my work, and my head is murdering me for trying to focus too hard on anything…” Mark fell down on his bed, groaning. “Also are you trying to make sunglasses indoors a new trend? Not workin’ dude, you just look like a douche.” 

“Did ye do the same thing with yer ass ass sunglasses?” Jack tilted his head, “Hypocrite.” 

“No, see I was trying to look like a douchebag ironically. The glasses did all the work themselves. You just look like a guy whose trying too hard to be cool.” 

“Whatever, I like them cause they’re brand new, shush.” It was to cover his eye, but hey. He can come up with excuses that kinda work. He was really hoping it worked, at least. Mark was an open book about many things, but he always had a feel to him like he had his own little book where he has something on everyone. Just a weird thought… Okay maybe that’s just a dumb thought. Anyways, Jack sighed softly and just looked up to the ceiling. “I’m just putting off all my work over ‘ere, tryna catch up after being outta commission for a while it’s absolutely killer…”

“You should go out and do something then.” Mark rubbed as his stuffy nose, coughing roughly only a moment later. “Euyuckk...” 

“I would, but I don’t want ta’ leave ye alone here all sick and by yerself, you know?” Jack leaned back on the chair, but immediately sitting back up as a dull pain spread through his back, causing him to hiss for a moment. 

“Don’t worry about me, I don’t wanna hold ya back…”

“Nah, I don’t really have anyone free to drag out anyways. I want to help you get better, too.” Jack smiled to him, and Mark chuckled a bit.

“I’m so fla- ha- haaaa--” He sneezed loudly once again, “…Flattered…” 

Jack laughed at the funny timing, and Mark merely groaned with a sore throat. Finally Jack tossed aside his want to laze around, and then pulled out his books again to try to focus on everything he needed to catch up on. His professors were thankfully understanding him having to be in a hospital for weeks, but some of their rearranged deadlines were just as killer. Mark was just laying down now trying to get some rest, while Jack plugged in his headphones to blast music to help him concentrate. Probably some loud metal, Jack had a tendency to focus well with loud fast paced stuff. It seems like it would be counteractive for some, but it’s what Jack goes for to get into his work. Jack seemed to be working hard for quite some time, but he soon slowed pace in work, and before he realized he sat at the desk, knocked out. Mark hadn’t been sleeping yet, this damn sickness keeping him up… He wasted time on his phone and lazing around until he noticed Jack was fast asleep. That was actually super cute… He got up, and placed a blanket over his sleeping figure, smiling gently… Jack was so cute when he slept… 

Mark probably would kiss his head if he wasn’t sick, but he didn’t want to get him sick too after everything. He dizzily wondered into the kitchen to grab some cereal. Of course it was really late into the afternoon now, but when you’re a college student, cheap cereal is usually a multiple times a day meal. That, and he really loved this particular cereal, so it was kinda just cuz it’s his favorite and he felt too sick to actually make dinner. Mark sat down on his bed again just chomping away at the cereal. Everything seemed fine until Tim peered to Mark and quickly scattered up to him. 

Mark was caught off guard, and had a short sneezing fit before he could even say anything. “Huhh…? What’re you doin’, lil biscuit? Is something happening?” 

Tim nodded, “Yes, but now I see you’re sick, Mark… I don’t think you should…”

“No, I’m fine, I can get out and do stuff…” He coughed roughly into his sleeve, and looked to him intently. “Just give me the gist of what’s happening, yeah? Uh well, quietly of course… Don’t wake up Jack.” 

“I’ll try not too… Well, theres trouble with erm… The hospital… That Arin and Suzy are in…” Tim muttered nervously, fiddling his little mittens together.

Marks eyes widened, and he felt fear rising in his veins. “Who is…?”

“I don’t know… But I think Doctor Blaque is behind this, too. It’s more like them…” 

“But I thought she--”

“She has a good rep as a doctor, that’s the problem. They didn’t want to convict and lock her up…” Tim seemed a bit worried when he said that, and for good reason. He saw Mark almost boil with anger. 

“I’m leaving to get rid of them. I won’t let anyone get to Arin and Suzy…!” Mark quickly shot up, and rushed off. Tim tried to say another thing, but Mark was already rushed off. Tim sighed, and relaxed down onto the desk where Jack slept. He looked to the sleeping boy for a moment, when suddenly a small Sam slipped out of the blanket that laid over Jack, and Tim cheerfully held his friend.

Back to Mark, he arrived in full garment, when the appearance of Dan and Phil showing up once again surprised him, but it was nice knowing these two were really going out trying to help! Mark hopped in, and the whole scene set itself. The hospital was being destroyed, and these large monsters rampaged and were destroying the entire building. It was crucial to get patients out of the place, so when Warfstache had arrived, they divided focus. Dan and Phil went to grab patients out of there, while Warfstache dealt with the creatures. He was achy from his sickness, but thankfully it didn’t sap too much from his strength. They were more chimeras, which made sense if it was Doc Blaque. But they seemed more tactile and more in control than her previous works…

These creatures seemed to be mostly lizard mixed, but there were hints of bear too. It was a rather creepy combination, spits of fur and scales and the overall size of them was intimidating in itself. Warfstache was gonna have fun taking out his aggression on those who deserved it… He cracked his knuckles, and bounced off the ground launching himself like a drill into the gut of the taller one, shooting his down the hospital hallway. He wacked his arm back behind him to knock the other one out from trying to get him from behind. He fell over in an almost flipping over type motion. The one shot down the hall was rather speedy by how quickly he was up in Warfstaches faces again. 

The creature got a nice lickin to Warfstaches face, an uppercut right to his chin, launching him through the ceiling, his body stuck on the second floor now. It took him a moment to free himself, and drop back down onto the head of the one that had been punched from behind before, showing himself to be rather a weaker link of the two. Warfstache hopped back and ripped out his hammer, getting into and defensive stance, begging for him to come get him. “C’mon, don’t be a chicken now, you monster.” He smirked broadly. Oh god but did his voice hurt to speak now… Hopefully he can keep this up before his sickness gets worse… 

“I ain’t got no chicken genes, just the genes to be able to beat ya ass,” The creature retorted loudly and proudly. “We only wanted to lure ya out, after all, mister Warfstache~” He had a growly, deep voice, but it seemed unauthentic like it had been distorted through some process or voice disguiser. Warfstache grew a bit weary, and then he realized this must be a trap…! Goddammit, and now they’re gonna try to wear him down… Whoever is behind this must’ve known he was sick too, which is their only opportunity to snag this chance. This was bad. He was wondering why they weren’t chasing down Dan and Phil helping patients… Then this may not be the work of Doc Blaque, someone who’s close to him may be behind all of this… If only he wasn’t so blinded as to who it was… He was gonna keep fighting… And hope he’s the one that wears them out instead. 

“Not good with comebacks, huh? Thought you’d be at least good at that since your fighting is barely subpar.” Mark taunted, having a habit to boost himself with talking more than he should. It’s a habit. A fun one, but probably bad. 

This clearly ticked it off as it just sucked its teeth in annoyance, and launched forward, claws out forward to lunge into his chest. He managed to grab him and toss him over his shoulder, cutting his shoulder on the trip, but tossing the hot headed creature away from him. Mark hissed grabbing his shoulder. Losing too much blood, even with his regeneration, would make all this even worse. He looked around for a moment, wondering where the smaller one had went, and that mystery was quickly solved when he received a blow to the back of his head, the creature using its giant fist to knock him down. Mark dropped to the ground, his body shaking. He grabbed his head and tried to get up, but his body shut down on him. It wouldn’t cooperate. His head felt inflated and dizzy, his eyes wobbling, and before he knew it he was unconscious, the sickness taking him in. 

Just as the chimera thought the deed was done, and started to lift Warfstache up like some trophy, Dan and Phil stepped back in realized what had happened while they were busy. “Oh j-jeez we need to help him…!” Phil almost squeaked, and Dan gave him a look. 

“If those guy can beat Warfstache himself, what sort of chance in hell do we stand?!” Dan exclaimed, eyeing Phil like he was mental. “We’ll be bloody torn apart in moments!” 

Phil knew he was probably right, but… “We can’t just be on standby though! He needs our help, and I don’t want to be known as someone who just let Warfstache get killed for all of the public to see!!” Phil rushed in, against Dan’s wishes, and Dan groaned. 

“You’re an idiot Phil! But ugh, I won’t let you get killed!” Dan followed in after him reluctantly. Phil’s bag of gadgets pulled out what looked like a paintball gun. But, they didn’t shoot paint. He shot at the creature, hitting its arm, encasing the entire arm in ice. 

“DAN! It works!!” Phil exclaimed, holding it his ice gun thing close to himself, shooting a couple more times. A few shots missed, encasing parts of the walls behind them in ice, but one landed on the creature’s leg. “Got two of your limbs, what’s your move?” Phil seemed to be getting over confident now, being careful with his shooting to the point that he didn’t realize it charged to him. 

“This.” It bared teeth at Phil with an awful grin, and charged its head full force into Phil’s gut, throwing him out the hospital floors window, and Dan freaked out. He launched his gadgets metal arms, and threw a punch to the creature that tossed Phil that far, knocking it out. 

Dan muttered a quick ‘yes’ to himself, and he started to quickly want to make sure Phil was okay, before a sharp pain entered through his lower back, right around were your kidneys are. Dan felt the chimera’s fist slamming into him, a sputter of blood coming from his mouth as he was now tossed aside, his body falling to the ground. 

Phil had gotten back up again, his body weak, stumbling back to see what had happened. He had lost his motivation… He held to his arm, completely useless it was, and in pain too. “Dan…” He muttered, having trouble moving clearly. The chimera looked impatiently over to Phil, with a deep sigh. 

“You should’ve stayed down. I’m not interested in killing anyone, just so you know. Better get back down before I feel less… Gracious, yes?” 

Phil squinted his eyes in frustration at the taunting creature. Phil took another step forward, and the chimera sighed, before it seemed like he suddenly had a plan. The chimera walked over to Dan’s unmoving body, and place his foot right near him. “Get… Away from him,” Phil mustered up the ability to say that, though his voice felt shot. The chimera flashed its teeth, and delivered a kicking blow to Dan’s gut, receiving a loud, but unconscious grunting noise from Dan, blood pooling from his mouth. “No…! Stop!” 

“Ah-ah-ahhh~ I told you to do something, and you didn’t listen.” The chimera looked at its nails like some prissy, and back to Phil with a devious smirk. “Maybe watching your friend get beat to death is what you need to learn, hm?” Phil’s body froze. He looked to Dan who was unconscious, and eyes peering to Warfstache who was also unconscious, and back to Dan and the chimera. If only they had his strength right now… He had a feeling Warfstache seemed off when he arrived… 

“Don’t hurt him… Please, I...” Phil wasn’t sure what to say. 

“I would consider your request… However, you don’t seem like the listening type. Your parents never taught you any better, clearly. So I’m only doing you a favor.” The chimera wound up and kicked him again, in the face this time, Dan’s body rolling across the ground. Phil’s body convulsed at the sight, tears pricking his eyes. 

“STOP!” He charged at the chimera, but then suddenly the chimera backslapped Phil, shoving his body to indent the wall he was shoved against. 

“You didn’t really think that would stop me, did you? Oh silly Phillip, how ridiculous. Your rash decisions caused all this. You made him chase after you. You went in without another thought, not even considering your own best friends feelings. Quite the friend you are, huh?” 

“No… No, please… That’s… That’s not…!” 

“Oh, but it is.” He’s ticking a nerve with him. This was way more fun than he thought he’d be having today. He placed his head over Dan’s skull, wrapping his vulture like feet to encase Dan’s head. “Say night night to him, won’t you? It’s the least you can do.” 

Phil pulled himself up from the rubble shakily, and as if in a random boost of adrenaline rushed through him, he managed to shove the chimera down, pinning him to the ground, the creature caught completely off-guard that time, and with a flash of light, the creature was passed out. Wait, a flash of light? Suddenly, SepticSpark stood over him, the chimera passed out and Phil still holding down the chimera, looking up to Septic, his heart pounding from exhaustion. “Se-Septic… Oh thank god, you barely helped us here…” Phil’s welled up eyes burst into tears, streaming down his face from his frantic mind. 

SepticSpark gave him an almost pitiful look, and helped him get up after offering his hand. “Hey… Don’t cry, buddy… You did a great job. I’ve called the hospital that’s about 5 miles away to help everyone in this one, a few ambulances have just arrived now. Are you okay?” He asked, brushing the tears off Phil’s face. 

Phil nodded, being slightly flustered by his help, but he was so happy. “M-my fri- Dan, he’s… Oh god, he…” 

Septic peered to whom he was speaking about, and he reassuringly patted his shoulder. “He’ll be fine, I got him.” There was a quick flash, and Dan and Septic were gone, and Septic had then returned. “I made sure he got into one of the ambulances just now.” Septic smiled softly. “Is Warfstache…?” 

Phil was relieved hearing Dan was going to be cared for now, and quickly nodded at Septic starting a question. “Oh-- yes, he’s right over there…” Phil pointed to Warfstache, who was passed out on the ground. 

“Thank you… You should probably join Dan. You need some tending too, as well.” Septic said, patting his arm gently. Septic gently placed a hand on his uninjured shoulder, “Take care of him, okay? The bit I saw of you two working together… You need each other. To be good to each other.”

“Ah, of course… I don’t know if I got glass in my arm or not, so erm… I’ll be off, hah…” Phil went outside, looking for the ambulance with Dan, he wanted to make sure he was being cared for if he was also going to let himself get cared for… He found it and asked to board, one of the paramedics recognizing him as being Dan’s hero partner, and allowed him on, while also checking his lame arm. For any injuries and the rest of him, and both Dan and Phil were taken off to the other hospital away from here as this one slowly crumbled down. Phil quietly looked to his unconscious friend, sighing ever so softy. He needed to take care of him… He needed to not let his blunders cause Dan to get hurt, either… He was sure he knew how to do that. 

Septic kneeled down to Warfstache, gently brushing a hand through his bright red hair, feeling his heart flare up slightly. Warfstache didn’t seem too injured, besides the wound on his shoulder mostly healing… Septic couldn’t figure out why he was unconscious. He removed his fingerless glove, and gently laid his hand against Warfstaches forehead, noticing he was running a very high temperature. Oh jeez… He must’ve worn himself out and he’s as sick as a dog…! Definitely something this dork would do… Septic pulled his glove back on, and sighed… He should probably take him back to his place… Under the guise that he was only himself the whole time, as to not give his identity away… He was thinking about leaving with an ambulance too, but that may be dangerous for his identity, and superheroes have to watch out for each other to not expose each other… Septic lifted him up, and zipped back to his dorm, laying down Warfstache in his own bed, and transforming back to himself. Jack then sighed, quietly looking over him. 

There was a quiet compulsion in the back of his head that wanted to remove Warfstaches disguise, so he could just maybe know who he was… But that would be awful of him to do to a sleeping Warfstache. And a complete invasion of privacy on his own part, considering he kept him away from the hospital for the exact reason. He felt like an asshole for thinking about it. But he couldn’t help but think about how much easier they could just… Be together if they just knew each other completely and fully. Jack then realized he was thinking like a mad man, and groaned. He was so dumb, such an idiot. Warfstache… He was probably just a temporary thing anyways. He’s gonna fall off the map like most heroes do one day and they’ll never see each other again… That’s how it always happens, isn’t it? It pained his heart to think of it… He mentally smacked himself and tried to focus on just caring for him now, his mind just being way too eccentric at the moment. He grabbed a cold glass of water and some medicine. He gave him some cold medicine and gave him water carefully so when he woke up maybe his sickness will have subsided. 

He then realized, Mark wasn’t here, and wasn’t he also sick? For a second he let his mind look to Warfstache and-- 

Nope, that conclusion was immediately shoved off as he received a sudden message from Mark. 

Mark: Hey Jack!  
Mark: I’m at Dannys right now.  
Mark: Not feeling well, but I promised Danny I’d help him out with something.   
Mark: I’ll see you in the morning!

Well… That blows that silly theory out of the water. He chuckled, putting his phone away into his back pocket. He wasn’t sure why it would cross his mind something so silly. He would totally have known by now if they’re the same person, Mark is definitely not a very private person, very open about everything and would be bad at keeping such a big secret. People get sick all the time, even heroes. 

Jack: Alright, have fun.   
Jack: We still up for breakfast at Dennys tomorrow with Felix?   
Mark: Dunno, I hope so. I’ll let you know when I wake up.   
Jack: Kay. Night dude. 

Jack felt relieved that Mark was okay, though it was weird he’d be out while sick. He hoped he would feel better by morning. He looked back to the sleeping Warfstache, gently brushing his hair out of his face, and dabbing some of the sweat off of his forehead. It was oddly fascinating to watch him sleep, and it felt nice to just take care of him… He looked rather beautiful in his sleep, even when he was sick… Is that weird to think about? Dammit, of course it is Jack, stop being a big of a creeper over here… 

 

Danny relaxed, breathing a sigh of relief. He was glad that Mark had left his phone here at the hospital, and he just barely saved Mark from his cover being blown. “You totally fuckin’ owe me dude…” Danny muttered, wiping his forehead. He had shown up to the scene late to see Septic carry Warfstache back to their place, and Danny just had to make sure this wasn’t how he was revealed because man, talk about an undignified way to lose your secret identity. Danny turned to look multiple ways around the hospital in shambles, and decided he needed to figure out who was behind this. He had gotten a tip from Phil through a message that the creature had said something about ‘luring Warfstache out’ being their main goal… Which means Danny the detective must once again return. Someone wanted to get some secrets on their genetic mutations, he figured… It’d be good to get rid of them quickly.

 

It had been a peaceful afternoon until suddenly the silence was broken from a sudden screaming, shortly followed by a seemingly exaggerated panting, and a couple of rough coughs following. Quickly Jack rushed to where Warfstache was when he heard the screaming, “Warfstache, a-are you okay?!” 

Mark stared up to Jack in confusion, until he looked to his hands, still covered by gloves. He was in his costume still..? Jack seemed unaware since he called him by his hero name and not real name which was quite the relief, but he was still panicking. “Arin… Jack, where are they…?” 

“Hey, relax… They got moved to another hospital. I saw the news on TV and checked on them already…” Jack said, though in reality, Sam told him what happened and he showed up as fast as he could. He then reached over to gently pet his face. “Good morning, by the way… I was worried for how long you’d be sleeping… It’s after 12, so I was getting kind of scared.” Jack gently took ahold of his hands. “You were… passed out from your fever, so I brought you to my place to take care of you… I didn’t think you’d like going to the hospital and them removing your mask or anything, hah…” Jack muttered nervously. 

Mark, still in costume and thankfully Jack was courteous enough not to find out who he was for himself… Thank god for that. He smiled to him, feeling calmer now. “Ah… I’m sorry… Is everyone okay? I didn’t realize how sick I was when I got there, and when I get sick, I get like, SICK.” He laughed, shrugging a bit. “Are Dan and Phil…?”

“They’re also fine. They had some troubles, but that Spark guys helped them apparently, that’s what Phil told me.” 

Yeah, Spark guy… Warfstache didn’t make any comment over that, knowing it was him, but that would be a dick move after all the kindness he’s shown… “Glad they’re okay. I didn’t mean to let them down like that. I haven’t had a good image in media recently at all.”

Jack shrugged. “Just, don’t try to go out and exert yourself like that when you know you’re sick…” He seemed legitimately concerned, even looking a bit sadly to him. “Even heroes need to care for themselves…”

“You’re right about that, Jack.” Mark looked to him gently, just gazing into his eyes quietly after a moment. Jack leaned in to Warfstache, and Warfstache grabbed the back of Jacks head, and kissing him so sweetly on the lips, but for a short moment. Jacks heart fluttered, and he felt himself smile and face turn a bright red. “Kissing while sick probably isn’t a good idea, hah… But, thank you for taking care of me. I guess it’s me that owes you this time.” He pulled himself out of Jacks bed, “I really should head out though, don’t want to over keep my stay…”

“But you’re still sick…! Should you really be going out? I… I don’t mind if you stay here…” Jack fiddled his hands together, basically begging him to stay with his eyes. 

But Warfstache shook his head. “I’m sorry. I would love to, but I have things I need to get done, okay? I’ll be fine.” Warfstache gently ran his fingers through his short brown hair, “Take good care of yourself too.” 

“…Can you kiss me again before you leave?” 

He wanted to say no cause he was sick, but he probably already messed up just before. Warfstache gently grabbed his face once again, lovingly kisses his lips, Jack leaning his head into it, and feeling empty again as Warfstache moved off, and left through the window and just… Vanished. He really hoped they could have so much more time together than just this… He sighed, and sat down, feeling his heart pound quietly into his ears. “Well… Hopefully I didn’t let myself get sick from that… But… I don’t think I care.” He smiled softly, just feeling happy from the feeling of having his lips on his own again. “I love you, Warfstache…” He mumbled ever so silently, holding his knees up to his chest, relaxing his head there.


	13. One step forward, Thousand Steps Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Progress is lost, and things are getting worst in the town, and new villains are popping up for fun. How can our heroes handle all this being thrown at them?

Jack quietly sat behind his laptop typing away, having gotten back to work the next day. It was nice and quiet, but it didn’t last long. He suddenly heard a rather hearty sneeze near the front of the dorm, and he chuckled. “Trying to sneak in or something after you were out all night, Mark?” Jack turned his chair, seeing a rather suspicious looking Mark. 

“Dang. Wanted to sneak behind ya for a surprise. Guess I’m not over this cold yet,” He laughed, scratching his head. 

“Well, are you doing any better than yesterday?” Jack asked, turning back to his work. 

“Yeah. I was with Danny, while we got some work done I was slowly getting better, no worries.” Mark yawned a bit, seeming kind of tired. He sat down, peering to what Jack was working on. “Still doing all that makeup work?” 

“Sadly… I got caught up in somethin’ last night, and theres just so much to get done here. And final exams are riding up.” 

“Fuck, that’s right… I should probably get to studying too,” He sighed, sounding more exasperated than he should, clearly exaggerating out his words. This drew a small laugh out of Jack.

“Well you better get too that, Markimoo.” Jack teased, receiving a groan of defeat and an eye roll from Mark. Mark then went to grab his bag and do exactly that. 

Everything went on as normal, and days passed. It was the week of exams, and everyone was scrambling to get all their last minute stuff in check before this semester finally came to an end for this school year. While Jack had all his things turned in finally, he was working hard on notes for all the exams. He noticed Mark was with him though, but he made the assumption he must be studying elsewhere, probably the library where many students spent the rest of their cramming session at, but Jack stayed in the room so he could blast music into his ears without a care of bothering people around him to let him study. At least, he was left to study until Danny suddenly shot him up with a call. 

Jack looked skeptically to his phone for a quick moment before grabbing it and answering. “Yes, Dan?” Jack asked, tapping his pen against the notebook that was all scribbled over with sloppy notes. 

“You think you can take a break from studying for a moment?” Danny said, his voice seeming a bit out of breath. 

“Uh… What’s going on?” Jack worried, placing his pen down and getting up from his seat. 

“Doctor Blaque… She’s back with more… Things. Hurry up here. I’m sending you my location with this call, so hurry. Warfstache and I need some backup.” 

“Hell… I’ll be as fast as possible, Danny…!” Jack looked to his phone as he got the location, and then hung up. Studying would have to wait… While final exams are important, so is saving more people from getting hurt and possible killed by that Doctors creations… He held down his gauges and then transformed into his SepticSpark costume, and zipped off leaving a green trail behind him for a short moment. 

He arrived quickly, and found that apparently it was a new lab. Must’ve been a backup lab she had to continue to conduct her awful experiments. Danny seemed to have found it, and got socked on by some of her creations, along with Warfstache. It was a rather large lab, again in a rather deserted area. Maybe a reservation of wildlife that she managed to creep her way into, but he had never been here before so he wasn’t sure. Danny and Warfstache had their hands full, knocking down multiple giant monsters, that had the features of a complete cesspool of creatures whose genetics should’ve never been mixed ever… They looked like giant abominations, skin mixing with scales and feathers and fur, it looked painful, even. But they seemed too confident and they were getting some upper hand, and Jack wouldn’t let that happen. 

Jack hopped in, jabbing one with his weapon, sending large electric charges through it and into the creatures gut, tossing it to crash into labs wall, brick and paint flying off the buildings outer sheath. “Glad you finally made an appearance, Septic.” Danny teased, and Jack hushed him. 

“Kinda worried you would never show up.” Warfstache interjected with a laugh, and Jack hushed him as well, zipping behind Warfstache and whacking one of the creatures sneaking up on him. 

“Pay attention instead of sneerin’ comments at me, ya losers.” Septic rolled his eyes, as he whipped his weapon up right to uppercut the creature with it. “Jeez, these assholes can’t seem to stay down… Could they be…?” He turned to Warfstache a bit, but was quickly interrupted.

“I really hope not. But with all the fights, I wouldn’t be shocked if the doctor has built up more resistance to their physical forms… But invincibility is ridiculous.” Warfstache said worried like. 

“Where could she even be?” Danny question, swiping his gooped arm, slamming it into one of them, forcing it to be melded with the ground. But the creature broke free, and Danny quickly hopped up before he got a direct hit to him. “I’m gonna check inside. Can you two hold on?” They both nodded, and allowed Danny to head in to actually find what was happening. 

“Nice to see you around. You’ve been kinda distant, love~” Warfstache cooed, whacking the creature with his large hammer weapon, but looking at Septic. 

“Don’t call me that,” Septic seemed slightly defensive for some unknown reason. “I’ve been busy and there haven’t been many crimes that we as heroes could actually interfere without being a nuisance.” 

“Ouch, that actually hurts my heart a bit. Can’t call you love, love?” 

Septic rolled his eyes. “Not while we’re fighting…” He said, slamming down the creature, the power of a lightning strike flowing through the creature. “Alright… That one should finally be down for the count.” He sighed, turning to him. There were two left up, both hopping on Warfstache now, so Septic quickly went forward, knocking one of them off to help him out a bit. 

Warfstache managed to get up after that, and roundhouse kick the creature in the jaw, resulting in a cracking noise and it being sent off a few feet away. Septic on the other hand gathered a ball of lightning energy, and shoved it into the creatures gut. The creature lit up like a cartoon Christmas tree, and was out like that same light. Septic sighed, “Took long enough… We should follow him in, yeah?” Septic asked Warf, and he nodded. Septic went first, leading in. The place was rather barren… There must be a hidden lab somewhere, and this all could be some decoy… While investigating, they suddenly heard a bellowed yell from below them. Septic turned frantically to Warfstache, and he seemed to understand what he was getting at. 

Warfstache raised his arms high in the air, smashing them down into the ground moments later, shattering the floor beneath the both of them, and completely tearing it apart. They both subsequently fell down, both the fall wasn’t too steep. Warfstache quickly looked down, and then moved to Septic, grabbing him as they were falling. It was quite the fall but soon Warfstaches feet landed safely on the ground, shattering the floor around them, still carrying Septic. Septic shoved him off a bit flustered, but they had to go back to focusing. What could’ve made the mighty scream that made it all the way to them? Now they were in this secret la of sorts, they had to find the source. 

“Never thought I’d hear something bellow louder than you,” Warfstache snarked, teasing Septic as they were now navigating through this lab. 

Septic laughed, softly, “Harhar, don’t make me show ye how loud I really can yell.” Septic replied, nudging Warfstache and then going back to shoving aside rubble. “Wait-- I think I know… Follow me, okay?” Septic said whisper like to him, peering his head around the corner, waving for Warfstache to follow him still. 

He nodded, following carefully behind. The two of the found themselves in a large scene of deformed, suffering human and animal like creatures in disgusting experiments. They all looked like they were truly suffering. Still, no sign of Danny anywhere and they both feared for where he could’ve gotten himself. Before they had too much time to think this over, red lights were flashing with loud almost police siren esque sounds blasting all throughout the entire building. A metal sheet shut down almost hitting Warfstache, but Septics reflexes were quick to rip him back from getting himself crushed. They both stumbled over, but were quick to get back up. 

These two normal looking folk came up behind the two of them, and as they turned they were completely caught off guard. It seemed like normal humans, but they knew not to trust anything here. It was unsafe to trust these ‘people’ for even a short moment. No words were exchanged, but Warfstache grabbed Septic by the waist, and used all his might to shove the both of them up. Warfstache launched himself into the air with Septic. He managed to get them all the way all the back up, and they managed to find Danny scrapping himself up, blood coming out the mouth. It appeared there was more than one of these completely normal looking but dangerous robots they figured… Septic rushed over to help Danny up, and suddenly it sounded like there was a rather prominent ticking noise through the sirens, Septic having been the first to hear it. He grabbed at both Warfstache and Danny, and started to just speed off as fast as he could. But the radius was large-- As the bomb exploded decimating the entire lab, its outskirts still pushed them out, causing them all to bounce off and fall down roughly to the ground.

“Fucking hell…” Danny cursed, slamming a fist down. “We were so close to finding out what she was up to now, and she blows up her own damn lab?!” 

“An extreme, but effective safety measure…” Warfstache sighed, defeated. There were so many likely innocent beings in there, most likely incinerated as soon as the explosion had gone off. 

Septic coughed roughly, slamming his fist into his chest to regain his breath. “Talk about bust…” 

They both agreed with him, and now it was time to just head off, since there was nothing else they could do. They would have to wait to see the aftermath later, in case any explosives or anything dangerous in general were awaiting their comeback. 

So they all left it at that, next time they shouldn’t be so needlessly reckless… And they had taken a few steps back in their journey to help find a way to fix Arin and Suzy. 

The week passed smoothly, exams causing many stresses along with the defeat from the beginning of the week, but everyone was happy and relieved once the week was finally done with. The semester had finally come to an end, and summer was alive and well. But that didn’t mean Mark and Jack had time to slack off, because they were still studying and doing summer classes so they can be ahead of everything, though it was a lot more flexible schedule being the summer. 

Late at night, things were quiet until in the silent warm summer night you could hear what sounded like a shops alarm going off indicating a thief. Septic was out that night and he was quick to follow the thief. A large mob of cop cars weren’t far behind, but the thief was quick, mysterious, and kept taking certain turns. But suddenly the thief had stopped. His long, reddish black cape flipped up and revealed himself. Septic gasped at the site. 

The figure before them had a dark complexion that still reflected heavy grey undertones, dark eyes and a mixture of piercings along the face and ears. His hair was a deep red, black on the sides, and he had a costume resembling a darker version of… Warfstache?! 

The entire crowd was silent, the cops looking although they were prepping for open fire at the slightest of cues. This dark thief, Warfstache looking man, lifted the large diamond into the sky, something he likely stole just now. Septic watched carefully. The man looked disappointed, and casually flipped the gem up in the air and tossed it into the crowd. The sudden confusion this caused allowed him to grab his cape, and seemingly disappear from thin air. Septic cursed himself for getting distracted, and sighed. He headed back, stumbling inside annoyed, in his normal look, hearing a whistle from Mark. 

“Wow, you look defeated. What’s wrong?” 

“Oh… Just… I was heading back here and… Well, maybe it’s on TV. There was a robbery nearby and I kinda got scared by it.” 

Mark shrugged, “Dang, really?”

“Yeah, and he got away.” Jack sat on the bed, grabbing the remote and flipping on the TV. It didn’t take long to find a news caster covering the story. 

“Tonight, in the busy streets even at night of LA did a mysterious figure pull a fast one and come steal one of the world’s large gem, one the museum owned worth about 7 billion,” The newscaster lady reported, the image shifting over to cameras on the scene. “The thief revealed his face, and we can certainly say the world was shocked to see what appeared to possibly be Warfstache, or even an uncanny look alike.” 

“W-What the hell? Warfstache?” Mark seemed immeadiately apprehensive, in disbelief. But not to send any suspicious vibes to Jack, he changed his demeanor slightly still in concern. “But the guys a hero. And aren’t you--“ 

“--Let’s not talk about that.” Jack quickly chimed in before Mark could say something about him and Warfstache. “And I know, I was shocked too. I don’t think it’s him. But his behavior has been so very off, I wonder if this is why… And why he would reveal himself if it is.” 

“Well it’s probably not, ahah… Maybe some jokester thief using his face as a stunt or something,” Mark was clearly trying to figure this out. 

Jack just sighed instead, “I don’t know. I’m… Just a bit scared.” 

“Jack…” Mark wanted to butt in, he wanted to assure him it wasn’t him… But… He couldn’t reveal himself, so in turn he couldn’t reassure him… Mark still gently grabbed him, wrapping warm arms around him. “Hey, no worries… I’m sure this is all some hoax, okay?” 

Jack flustered softly being hugged, and gently latched his arms around Mark. “I hope so.” 

They were both quiet for a moment, before Mark finally moved back, feeling regret not just being able to be 100% clean with him. He turned off the TV. “We’ll see how it goes. And besides, even if your hero boyfriend is crazy, I’m still here for you.” He tried to be nice about it and not give himself up. Jack shrugged with him, saying a small thanks, while also whining about Mark referring to Warfstache as his boyfriend… 

Jack woke up that morning feeling groggy unlike his more enthused waking, so he knew he needed some extra coffee today. They didn’t have any coffee here so Jack had to head to Starbucks early in the morning to get some coffee since there was one basically right on top of campus. And of course someone misspelled Jack of all names—He understood not spelling Sean right, but who the hell spells Jack ‘Jakk’? Baristas are just fucking with people at this point. He didn’t let himself get too worked up about it and just drank up on his way to class, being in class with Felix again, since he had two classes at the Uni. 

“Nice to see you back, I was worried you’d abandon me as a friend after finishing that class.” Felix teased, standing outside of his classroom since it hadn’t started yet. 

“I probably should after you giving me a C, but I’m not that mean.” Jack said back at him, yawning slightly.

“You know that would be bias. I’m not gonna lose my job over your pretty little Irish face.” He laughed, pretending to pinch at Jacks cheek like some overly cheerful aunty. “Anyways, you holdin up okay? Usually you’re more chipper, and, well awake.” 

Jack shrugged. “Was strolling through town when I stumbled across that robbery. Maybe I was out to late and I’m just tired right now.” 

“Ah, you saw that too. The uh, Hero gone rogue they’re saying.” 

“You don’t actually believe the BS that it’s actually Warfstache, do ya?” 

“Eh, you never know what villains might be lurking right under your nose, Jack.” Too bad Jack didn’t realize Felix was also sneakily referring to himself, but of course can’t give that away.

“Morning, Felix.” 

“Oh, morning Mister Patrick. Heading off for break?” Felix stopped his conversation momentarily with Jack, talking to what appeared to be another teacher Jack hadn’t seen around before. 

“Yeah, picking up some food for me and the wife before my next class.” He waved off Felix, and then Felix turned back to Jack. 

“Who was that?” Jack of course followed up with.

“Oh, that’s the new advanced physics teacher. Real nerd. Takes video games way too seriously. You guys would probably get along,” He chuckled, and then saw a group of students making their way, so Felix checked his watch. “Ah, class is about to start. Head to your seat, we can banter more later.” 

Jack nodded and finished up his coffee, tossing it in the trash before taking his seat. The class continued like normal, Jack once again finding himself drifting off in class, this time over concern of Warfstache. He wanted to get to the bottom of this. Felix wandered to Jacks desk, and slammed down a ruler against his desk. “Pay attention, Mcloughlin.” Jack startled up by Felix’s sudden warning, receiving a quick apology from Jack. He anxiously tapped his foot the rest of the class, and jumped the moment class was over. Felix managed to grab him before he ran like wild, and Jack almost stumbled over. 

“Oh—Sorry, Felix. I’m always dazed out in class, aren’t I?” 

“And this is why I didn’t give you any higher than a C. I know you’re stressed, but keep your work ahead above everything else, you got that?” 

“Y-Yeah, of course. I really gotta run, so…” 

“Go ahead.” Felix let him go, sighing slightly. He pulled up his sleeve revealing a watch, seemingly putting in something, and covering it back up again. He smirked very off-like. He had just sent small drones to follow him around to see if he could uncover what Jack, rather, Septic was up to. He recently got them to trace one person—He needed to learn what he was up to so he could set out step two of his plan… 

Jack quickly ran off campus, and decided he could investigate since he only had one class today, while he did have other plans, he could put them off for now. He hid under an alley and transformed, and speeded off to where the crime was committed. The museum was closed for repairs, but no workers were in today as they were starting fix ups the next day, Septic decided to take this as his chance to get a closer look. He looked to the casing of the diamond that had a precise incision over the top of it almost perfectly. Must have been a laser, how cliché. He did some more looking, finding wreck and ravage all over the museum, except for where the diamond was. And it was odd how he seemed annoyed when inspecting the diamond—A counterfeit, possibly? Which would be good if that is the case. Why was he so precise with this one thing when he couldn’t destroyed it like he did with the rest of the museum and precious gems? 

This situation was definitely getting weirder and he couldn’t think of why. And for someone to impersonate Warfstache in such a zombified punk wannabe looking way… It was bizarre. He pulled out his phone as he remembered news casters got videos and photos of his face—nothing too high resolution, but the details pointed towards Warfstache except for the D plastered over his chest like it was supposed to be his symbol? The red and pink theme stuck though, and he really wished he could actually see Warfstache but…. He figured that might end in him getting attacked for what people think, and Warfstache would be wise to stay out of public eye at least…

During his search, he found some things that could indeed be considered evidence…? There was something weird left behind… A green powdery substance… He pinched it in-between his fingers, rubbing it. The powder seemed to transform into liquid and drip down his hands, how weird…? Maybe it was a substance activated by the oils on skin? Jack quickly summoned his little buddy Sam, and asked him to collect a sample of the green powder, and hold onto it. The floating green eyeball cheerfully assisted him, and was able to stash it away safely. “Danny would definitely know more about this than me…” He patted Sam’s head softly, and continued on his search. Besides that one blemish, this look-a-like covers up quite well… He smashed almost everything in the area and didn’t even leave a hair or fingerprint or anything behind. It’s insane. With the possibilities of a robot increasing, Jack settled for that idea for now. It definitely wasn’t unfathomable with recent events. 

He started getting a bad feeling about being here, so he called over Sam to head out. When suddenly he was stopped in his tracks, being tossed across the museums ground, slamming his back and tearing down a wall by mere force, being hit by something that felt like a giant boulder. 

“Oof--!! What in the…?” Septic felt his body trembling from the pain in his body, and he couldn’t pull himself up… From the dust surrounding him, a thing stepped into his vision… A person…? 

His eyes peered up, and he saw him. The dark but ashen skin, the tight outfit in dark colors, his confident smirk, dead feeling eyes, the piercings in his face and his pointy almost elven ears, and the bright red hair placed on the top. “W… Warfst…” 

The figure lifted Septic up by the front of his hero suit, Septic struggling under the man’s hold, and then he stuck him up to the wall holding him up by his neck, squeezing, causing Septic to gag, and cling and dig his nails into his chokehold, tears poking his eyes. “Dark. It has a much better ring to it.” The man, or, Dark spoke. 

“E-Edgy…” Septic coughed, scowling at him. 

“Eh. Better than ‘SepticSpark,’” Dark rolled his eyes. He squeezed his neck tighter, and Septic squeaked out of pain, “I’m not sure what you’re doing, but if you’re trying to learn more, give up.” 

Septic weakly moved his arms, gripped Dark, and tried weakly to shock him. Dark merely laughed, and Septic cursed while struggling. He felt blood dribble from his neck from the grip… “W-why…?” 

“You don’t need to know.” His lips upturned in a curve seeing Septic slowly lose conscious. “Good night, my love. We’ll continue this later.” 

Septic fell unconscious, and Dark merely dropped him to slump against the wall, his body shimmering back to his normal form. Dark turned, and suddenly snatched the mini silent drone that Felix had sent to follow Jack. “Be scared.” He said to it, before destroying it in his grasp, and crumbling the metal pieces onto the floor.


	14. A Heroes Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spending the Holidays together sounds fun, but sometimes everythings not fine and dandy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHRISTMAS SPECIAL GUYS. Told ya'll on my dA it was coming. This technically doesn't really fit into canon, so its a christmas special for fun, since the current time in the canon story is summer but I still wanted to make a Christmas special so here it is. I'm calling this chapter 13.5 bc I have something else for Chapter 14, and this is so I can just fill u guys with Christmas and holiday feels. Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas Eve eve...? Lol that sounds funny. I hope you still enjoy this! <3  
> BTW i finally have full references for both Mark and Jacks superhero outfits if you'd like reference!  
> Warfstache: http://allitalianrejects.deviantart.com/art/Young-Heroes-of-LA-Mark-Warfstache-Full-Ref-650306016  
> SepticSpark: http://allitalianrejects.deviantart.com/art/Young-Heroes-of-LA-Jack-SepticSpark-Full-Ref-650308161  
> EDIT: oh shit i accidently made this chapter 13 and my last chapter 14.... im so dumb. lemme try to fix that  
> EDIT AGAIN: OK i fixed it whoopsie

Jack hummed some Christmas carol, pouring out some steaming peppermint hot chocolate when he heard the dorm door open, a gleeful smile spreading wide across his face. He lifted to two very hot mugs and moved out of the kitchen, finding Mark stepping in with the fake tree (since the school doesn’t allow real trees) and placing it down on the empty space they had cleaned for it. It wasn’t huge, but it did reach up to Mark hip, and it was a good tree either way. 

“Oh! Jack, hey, thanks.” He thanked Jack for handing him a mug, and sipped blissfully from it. “Mmmmm~ I swear, you’ve got making hot chocolate down like an art.” Mark chuckled, stirring the hot chocolate with the little candy cane currently melting in the drink. 

“Well of course, any sweet drink is my mastery.” He gave a cheeky smile, taking a small sip of the still hot liquid. “Feels good, I swear the Dorms are so cheap when it comes to heating.” He commented about how cold it was, and Mark agreed with a nod. 

“Yeah, but we have the hot chocolate.” Mark smirked, “Aaaand each other to snuggle~” Mark said almost tantalizingly and painfully flirty. 

Jack bubbled into laughter, his cheeks heating up slightly. “Haha, Mark. Fucking doof. Don’t think I won’t take you up on that offer if they keep this up though, you’ll have to be my radiator.” He teased back, normalizing this weird flirty banter, trying to seem casual and not too awkward about it like he can be. He waved at him to come sit down with him, relaxing back on the couch. Mark sat beside him, and Jack leaned against Mark as he was getting comfy. Everything seemed to be going so good for a peaceful night. 

But out of the blue, the silence in the room was overtaken by the sound of something exploding, and collapsing, triggering alarms all over the entire campus. A bomb had gone off on the bottom floor of the dormitory next door, and all students were being evacuated. Mark and Jack freaked out, putting their drinks aside and grabbing a lot to bundle up before running out together. Once outside, they stared up to the burning building, and knew what they had to do. They each pretended to get lost in the crowd of students, and went somewhere quick to transform. 

Jack rushed behind the untouched building, and squeezed down the inconspicuous button on his gage earrings, and as lighting looking shocks surrounded him his outfit changed, his slimming black suit, his shoulders out, the bright neon green rims of the outfit and the lightning bolt belt conjoining, and his thigh high boots almost reaching where his outfit ends, his soft brown hair lighting up into an almost eye burning green color, a blue mask adorning over the area around his eyes, his bright blue eyes seeming to glow, he became SepticSpark.

Mark rushed in the other direction, hiding behind a truck, and pressing the very small button placed on the rim of his glasses, a pink red light enshrouding him, and then he adorned his outfit, a giant black flapping cape, his black and red almost Jason Todd-esque top with two sets of four buttons coming down the chest, his greyish black spandex pants and almost knee high red shining boots, black gloves and silver belt, with the Warfstache pink mustache both on the belt buckle and the clip that keeps the cape on over his neck. He also had his red mask over the area around his eyes, as his dark black hair blazed to a fiery red over his head. He was now Warfstache.

They both jumped out from their spots and quickly went to help people who were still stuck in the building currently burning and crumbling down. This is the second explosion case they’ve dealt with… The first being a power plant, and now a school? There wasn’t much connection, but the bomb types were certainly the same and they happened too close together to be a coincidence. SepticSpark was the first in, doing a surveillance for any bombs, not wanting the same conflicts from before to arise again… It seemed there were no more, so he carried on to zip in and out people. Warfstache followed behind, and quickly joined in, not as fast as Septic, but he could grab more people at once with his super strength, taking unconscious victims while Septic helped the ones who were awake. Fire department was informed and was sent in, assisting Warf and Septic. 

During the chaos it seemed someone managed to sneak onto the campus—and disturb everyone around the area. He landed in the crowd, slamming a metal fist into the ground, causing the surrounding students to go flying, this person then raising his head. He wore a dark blue almost black mask with a devious smile painted onto it, the only thing showing were the man’s piercing blue eyes and his faded blue tinted blonde hair over his head. This cause panic, all the remaining people running away as far as possible. A few firemen ran off, and the rest tried to stay focused, and police on the area ran towards the mysterious man cloaked in black and blue. But as they ran forward, the man waved a hand and easily swiped them into the air again, tossing them away. Warfstache was bringing out another unconscious student when he caught eye of the man, staring him down. 

“You come here to witness your handiwork?” Warfstache glared, his voice making a very deep and angered feeling, his blood pumping, his eyes and heart filled with rage. Septic had gotten out the last person he could and saw this showdown—He needed to help… But he should check on the people who were tossed aside first. He quickly checked to see most people were relatively unharmed, and he was looking around and he couldn’t find Mark…. He really hoped he had ran off safely in the chaos…. He shook his head off the thought and rushed back to the showdown he saw happening, figuring it was the cause of all this. 

“Indeed I have…~” The man spoke in his heavy accent, Scandinavian maybe? Somewhere around there, Warfstache couldn’t place it exactly. “But that’s not all my dear Warfstache…~” The mysterious man smirked, stepping forward, an ominous feeling crawling up his spine, causing him to shiver and step away from the weird man. Which was extremely out of character for someone who would usually take the challenge. Septic watched, unsure of how to intervene in this. So he was going to watch until he needed to step in... 

“What is it then? Came here to taunt us? Laugh at those you’ve killed in cold blood?” Warfstache seemed slightly recluse in his body movements, but his voice still resonated the anger boiling inside. Seeing this scumbag in the face… It drove him crazy.

“Sadly, I have more planned, and it may not be as fun as simply watching the show. At least, for you. Less personal fireworks, more… Maybe some ragdoll game, which would be fitting. And if you’ve ever played one, you know what’s coming up, lovely.” He raised his hand directed in Warfstaches direction. Everything was silent… Until a disgruntled noise came from Warfstaches throat, his body suddenly being lifted up his body shaking slightly from being lifted from the ground.

“W-What the hell?!” his trembling lips squealed out, confused and slightly terrified, not knowing what was happening. He doesn’t think he’s ever encountered this person but he seemed to know him so well…? Well most everyone knew his name, but this man seemed too… Familiar with him. But he wasn’t sure how to dwell on that while his body was under someone else’s control. He was lifted higher and higher into the air, until Septic leaped forth, tackling the man from behind. Warfstache fell down to the ground when the mysterious person had lost control of him, and he hissed slightly from pain. He looked see Septic trying to blast electric to get him down, but before he had the chance, Septic’s body was flown threw the air and into the building that was still ablaze. 

“SEPTIC!!” Warfstache yelled, reaching out, his heart faltering watching this. He hopped up, but before he could run, his body was in the man’s telekinetic grasp again, and the creep was laughing like an idiot. 

“My business isn’t with your little lover boy, it’s with you.” As the man started to clench his fist, Mark felt like the air around him started to squeeze him, taking the air right out of his lungs, his body feeling restricted and squeezed. “He’ll probably be fine, I didn’t directly throw him into a fire, that’d just be rude, and ruin the cooperation I need from you.” His eyes slanted slightly as he narrowed his look to Warfstache. “I’d advise you to tell him off, or he might seriously get injured the next time he gets close.” His voice full force with the threatening tone. 

Warfstache hesitated, but the thought of this persons powers being used against Septic wrenched him… But SepticSpark wasn’t exactly someone to listen when someone tells them to stand down. He did it once, but that was a different circumstance, and it was a more even battle over this. He tried to move more, but his movements were constricted, choppy, and painful to attempt. “Leave… Him alone… What do you want from me…?” 

The man seemed pleased now, but as he opened his mouth to speak, he was cut off by a lightning strike it seemed, striking his chest, Warfstache being dropped once again, and the man clutched his chest, grunting. Slight shocks raised from him, shocking his body a few more times, an after effect of Septic’s attack. Warfstache coughed roughly, slamming his fist against his chest, trying to get his breathing back to normal. He looked to the man, his body trembling. Warfstache stepped closer to him, and rolled his eyes. 

“So scary. Taken down by one shot. Sorry man, but me telling Septic to back off is useless. He’s got my back, and clearly got you down that quickly. Time to take care of the rest of it…” He seemed prepared to attack, probably a disabling move so he couldn’t do anything, but as his fist raised up, the man gripped Warfstaches legs, and seemingly managed to imitate Septic’s power, sending shockwaves through Warfstaches body, causing him to yell in agony. Septic had finally got back after pulling himself out of the rubble, and was taken back seeing the man use his own powers…?

Warfstache fell, his body writhing and lighting marks running course over his body. He was whimpering and writhing, the power being strong in its reverb. “H-How did you…?” 

“Thanks for the help there, dear friend… He’ll be a lot more easy to handle in this state…~” He smirked, pulling himself up off the ground, brushing the dust from the ground off his dark disguising clothes and cloak, his sly eyes piercing into Septic’s. Septic felt fear drive through him, but he couldn’t handle seeing Warfstache like that, writhing from his own power being used on him, by extension making him feel quite guilty. “Sorry that I hadn’t warned you, but taking the power of those who attack me is kinda my thing~” He raised his hands menacingly, “Now I need you to go night-night so I can leave with your friend here.” He sent out an electric shock at Septic, but Septic’s quick reflexes shot back the lightning shock, locking them in a battle of powers, and Septic seemed extremely at a disadvantage. It was like he took powers and made them ten-fold in some strange way. 

Just as things were looking grim for Septic, a comically large metal claw dropped down, slamming upside the man’s head, and Phil came out of the lurks, having been the cause of it. “Yes!! I can’t believe that actually worked!” He exclaimed, rushing over to the now unconscious masked man.

“Jesus—you didn’t kill him, did you Phil?” Dan followed behind, examining him. The exhausted SepticSpark glanced over, tiredly making his way over, chuckling gently.

“He’s still breathing, don’t you two worry. I have to thank you for the save. It seems he saps powers, and sends it back stronger, which is certainly an annoying power to work against.” He turned to Warfstache, who was sitting up now, hand against his forehead. The lightning marks that had scattered on him were faded now, mostly disappearing, and Septic sighed in relief. 

“No problem! We worked quietly to get the fires out too, we didn’t mean to take so long to help.” Phil said, the metal claw retreating back into his gadget backpack thing, “And geez, kinda glad we don’t have any, that guy would’ve been impossible to get down otherwise.”

“We probably shouldn’t waste too much time and figure out who this shit guy was, eh?” Dan suggested, “We don’t know when he’ll be conscious again.” 

Septic nodded, but when he was going to remove the mask, he jumped back at another figure popping up, lifting the mysterious person, now there was two of them? He said nothing, but he dropped down what seemed to be a smoke screen, and they both disappeared into the night. “Are you fucking me right now?! JUST as I said that—Dammit, I am just done.” Dan huffed off, annoyed from that sudden intrusion. 

Septic didn’t even have a chance to react because he was so surprised which was weird cause his reflexes are usually on point—But he still felt so drained from the exertion of that mysterious persons power. “That was… Surprising. Now we don’t know what awful person committed this atrocity…” 

Warfstache was up now, and walked up behind Septic, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. “It’s alright. I have a feeling this isn’t the last time we’ll be seeing him.” 

Septic nodded, and watched as the groups of emergency vans finally pulled in, “We did all we could. It’s time we headed out, though. We’ll get him next time. Thank you both, for everything. We’ll be off now.” 

Dan and Phil nodded and left the area, leaving Septic and Warfstache there. Just as Septic was ready to head out, Warfstache grabbed him by the hand. “Hey... Can I take you somewhere? It won’t be long. Just… a quick trip.” 

Septic looked skeptically to Warfstache, but his heart fluttered ever so slightly at Warfstache holding his hand. He was still a bit worn from that, but he decided to agree anyways, curious to where he wanted to take him. 

Warfstache smiled, and lifted him up into his arms, receiving a shocked noise and expression from Septic, who was now clinging tightly to him, feeling… Warm, and safe in his arms. His chest flustered a dark red and he leaned his head against his chest. Warfstache left through a back entrance of the campus as to not bother the emergency vehicles, and starting walking with Septic. 

Time passed and Septic was curious where they were going, but he didn’t ask because he knew he would get his answer soon. Warfstache now stood upon a large building, right near the large Christmas tree bearing over the city giant and bright. Septic stared upon it, smiling slightly. He looked to Warfstache as he was let down, and saw Warfstache suddenly pull out his phone. Septic tilted his head, confused at the gesture, but then some music started playing from the phone. 

Iiiiii~ don’t want a lot for Christmas~ 

The voice that resonated was a man’s voice, soft and sultry like—Like Warfstaches.  
Septic’s cheeks flustered, looking away slightly. “Oh my god, you are being so cheesy right now…” He scratched his head, chuckling nervously. “Is that you singing…?” 

“Being cheesy is my thing, dear. And maybe…~” Warfstache stepped forward, and he started to sing-along. “There’s just one thing that I need~” He sang, gently grasping Septic’s hand gently into his, pulling their bodies close again. 

Septic flustered, heart pounding softly, squeezing his hand gently. They had danced together only once before, and all the butterflies in his stomach returned, his mind going wild. It was almost like a Christmas miracle all the emotions bolstering inside of him. 

“I don’t care about the presents, underneath the Christmas tree~” Warfstache continued singing, and a few lines later, he looked very deeply into Septic’s eyes, his emotions pouring out between them and the line finally came; “All I want for Christmas is you~” 

Warfstache stopped singing, and leaned in. Septic met him halfway, meeting him in a very soft kiss, holding each other tightly under the moonlight and bright Christmas tree. They shared a very tender moment, hands holding close, gripping at clothing and not wanting to let go. Music still played softly in the background, as the two lovers hearts beating together in a rhythm, a holiday spent with the one you don’t ever want to let go. Finally they separated, still staying close. Warfstache looked softly into his eyes. “Septic… You’re so… Beautiful,” He caressed his cheek gently, Septic reaching up and placing a hand over Warfstaches gentle touch. 

Warfstache then seemed to remember something, and grabbed something out from some pocket somewhere. “I got you something, just… Something you can hold onto.” 

SepticSpark seemed slightly taken back, “What is it…?” 

Warfstache pulled out a long rectangtular box, and giving it to him. Septic flustered, taking the box. He opened it, and inside was a silver chained necklace, a lightning bolt shaped charm, with small green gems around it, ‘SS’ carved into it. Septic felt tears poke into his eyes, and Warfstache panicked slightly. “O-Oh jeez, don’t cry!” Warfstache clung to him tightly in a hug, receiving a soft chuckle from the happy and embarrassed Septic. “It’s not like I want you to give your identity away or anything, so it’s not hard to hide… But erm, I just wanted to get you something nice.”

“Well… It’s very nice and I’m so happy. Merry Christmas, Warfstache.” 

Warfstache grinned lovingly. “Merry Christmas, love.” 

 

Back at the dorms, all students were being sent to sleep in hotels around the areas while the school tried to find a solution to fic the dorms. Mark and Jack were finally back to themselves, late into the night, getting to their hotel room as assigned. “You doing alright? It’s awful for something like this to happen on Christmas honestly.” Mark spoke up, putting away some of the stuff they had grabbed before running off like that. 

“Yeah… I ran off before I saw much else.” Jack said, sitting down on the bed, yawning slightly. Mark sat beside him, patting his shoulder gently. 

“Well, we shouldn’t panic too much. It’s alright.” 

Jack leaned his head against Marks shoulder quietly. Mark yawned now too, placing is arm around Jacks shoulder, patting it gently. Jack grabbed his shirt and fiddled with something under his shirt for a moment, but then stopped, shutting his eyes sleepily against Mark. Mark was curious but stayed quiet, just letting Jack fall asleep against him. It had been a bit of a long day and all they needed now was some rest.


	15. Invisibility, Ice, and Clones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the hero club grows, so do the amount of villians. Injustice is never resting anywhere you go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Happy early Valentines-- Tomorrow is Valentines Day! I drew some septiplier piece for my dA and Youtube but it wasnt related to the story... whoops. Sorry that I haven't updated since Christmas, sometimes it takes longer to fledge these out, and I've been busy with family and personal things. Being out of school isn't as easy as I hoped it would be. Oh well. I hope you enjoy this chapter with some new additions that will be reoccurring I promise ya! I added a bit of a more romantic scene too to fill some of your septiplier needs. I haven't stopped posting so don't fret guys!

Jack woke up abruptly, shooting up, frantically looking around the unfamiliar messy room. But then he felt the strain around his neck again from before, his body also aching and strained, he coughed roughly, feeling a gentle bandaging around his neck, as well as covering other parts of him, seems someone tried to take care of him… But where was he? He was hoping that creep didn’t take him home or something… But this room looked less like a villians lair and more like some nerds dream room. He soon got his answer when a young, brown haired boy with bright blue eyes and some obvious skin problems came in, seeming quite shocked that Jack was awake.

                “O-oh…! You’re awake… Sorry if you’re startled by all this… Erm, let me introduce myself.” The boy sat down besides the bed, holding a bowl of hot water, a towel, and some medical supplies, placing them down on his dresser. “I’m Ethan, I erm… I saw what… Uh, happened. Between you and… That Warfstache look-a-like,”

                Jack seemed slightly panicked, “What? How?? How many people know??”

                “Oh no no, j-just me… There was no one else around, and I just happened to be there…” He sighed, nervously, struggling out a bit of a chuckle. “Uh, I wanted to help, but he was so… Intimidating… So after I saw you drop down, I… Came to get you, and I didn’t know where you lived and was worried bringing you to a hospital might be a bad idea, because um, identity reasons and all…. so I took you to my home…”

                “I… Well, thank you, but I didn’t see anyone else anywhere in the area.” Jack mentioned, while his head was woozy, he still remember what happened, at least slightly.

                Ethan sighed, “That’s, well. Easy to show rather than explain.” He put his arm out, and slowly it faded from the eyes.

                “Woah… Invisibility?” Jack seemed impressed.

                “Mhmm… I’m not really a hero like you, though, I just have these powers… I don’t have the guts to be heroic, in all honesty…” Ethan pulled his arm away, “Uh, do you need anything?”

                “Well, I can say you’re my hero. Thanks. Even if it’s a bit weird, I’m grateful.” He grinned, reassuring Ethan. “Ah, no… I’m fine, my heads a bit woozy, but I probably should just head home…”

                “I see… I have some migraine medicine you can take before you head off, perhaps…”

                “No, thank you. I don’t want to worry my roommate by just disappearing and not answering him, he probably has no idea what’s going on, hah…” He scratched the back of his head. “I’m Sean, by the way… You already know what I look like, so there’s really no point in hiding anything… I usually go by Jack, either is fine.”

                Ethan seemed reluctant to let him leave, but he nodded. Jack stood up, stretching himself out. He was in pain still, but it was more like a strained pain rather than an unbearable pain. “O-Oh! I almost forgot to give you your phone…” He muttered, placing it in Jacks hand.

                “Thanks. I hope to meet you again. I wouldn’t mind fighting alongside you, Ethan.” Jack shot him a very sweet smile, causing Ethan to fluster slightly.

                “I…” He wanted to mutter about how he wasn’t courageous, but he decided to shove that aside. “Yes. I will see you again! I promise you that!” 

                Jack nodded, and quickly headed out. He wasn’t completely comfortable with another person knowing his identity, but it’s not like they knew each other really personally, and he was a nice, rather nervous lanky kid who just wanted to help out. He zipped back to the dorm, stopping at the front door and took a deep breath. He pulled out his phone, checking the front camera. His neck was actually quite bruised… He didn’t want Mark getting the wrong idea, or even worse, being suspicious, so he pulled up his hood, which hid it a bit… Nothing else was too apparent, so then he grabbed his keys and headed inside.

                “JAAACKKKKKK!” A very loud and familiar voice boomed, as Mark stumbled out of the kitchen, looking to him. “Jack! Where the hell were you? You’ve been missing all night! I hope you hadn’t run off to fuck your hero boyfriend or something.”

                “Quit that out, Mark! He’s not my boyfriend.” He sighed. “I stayed with a friend last night, he was kind enough to let me stay since I was too tired, he didn’t want me falling asleep on the bus or something, and I didn’t want to be rude.”

                “Who?” Mark questioned, waving for Jack to follow him into the kitchen, since he just made coffee, and knew Jack would love some.

                “Ah, I don’t think you know him. His names Ethan.”

                “Ethan? As in that high school kid that just moved around here?” Mark seemed to recognize the name.

                “Uh…”

                “Yeah, the skinny brown haired kid with blue eyes and acne and stuff—“

                “How do you know him?” Jack questioned, stepping into the kitchen to grab some coffee.

                “Oh, I’m doing some tutoring for some high school kids for one of my classes, he’s in one of those dual-enrollment things- Like doing college stuff in high school, an interesting program.” Mark mentioned, “I was assigned to tutor him, he’s actually a gamer and pretty smart.”

                “Then I suppose we are talking about the same person, yeah…” Oh no… Now Ethan has a sudden closer connection to him than he originally thought. Well that’s certainly worrying. But it’s fine… What a random coincidence though… He didn’t really know anything about the kid either besides from what he looked like, but Mark probably knows what he’s talking about.

                “Hanging out at some high schoolers house is a bit weird, but I won’t judge.” Mark shrugged, sitting down with his coffee.

                _Being attacked by someone who looks like the love of your life and then being taken home by some kid is weird too,_ Jack thought, but he couldn’t exactly say that aloud… He took a sip of the coffee, sighing in relief after that first sip, feeling slightly better being more awake now. He’ll have to get to the bottom of everything that happened last night another time.

 

                Nighttime rolled around, and SepticSpark, despite his aching body and neck, he decided that he wanted to do some more investigating, but to be a lot safer this time. Keep distance if he runs into… Him again. He spent many nights surveilling on rooftops, since it was more convenient with all the large buildings around to have higher ground.

                “Septic.” The deep, but soft and gentle voice rang in his ears like music for a short moment, until it filled him with fear. He quietly turned, seeing… A shadow, standing there.

                “Is that you…? Or are you that monster?” He asked, anxiously waiting, his fist clenching, palms getting sweaty.

                “It’s just me… I promise.” Warfstache stepped forward, light finally revealing him. He seemed also reclusive, almost defeated in his appearance. Septic took that moment to analyze him. His skin was its warm tanned tone, his outfit was normal, bright red flame like hair, normal ears and soft smile gracing his nice face.

                “Warfstache…” His eyes teared up slightly, not hesitating to race forward and collapse tightly into his arms. “I was so scared. You disappeared. There was this… Impersonator, this monster, he… He attacked me, he’s not afraid to kill, I thought I was going to… Oh god,” His long arms trembling around Warfstaches figures.

                Warfstache held him tightly in return, resting his head on top of Septic’s, murmuring a soft ‘shhhh’ sound to him, petting his back. So that’s why Jack hadn’t come home last night instead… His heart filled with remorse. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know who that is. I was home when I saw the news… I’m so so sorry, Septic… You’re alive though, and I’m here…”

                “You don’t know what it is…?” Septic questioned, sniffling quietly.

                Warfstache shook his head. “No. My only idea would be some robot, or perhaps an impersonator. A villians trying to smear me… That’s why I’ve been so reluctant to show myself, you understand?”

                Septic moved back, wiping under his eyes. “y… Yeah, I understand…” His trembling hand holding the front of Warfstaches outfit. His eyes peered up to Warfstache, and he noticed the bruises surrounding Septic’s neck.

                “Did… That thing do this to you?” Warfstache inquired, referring to the bruises.

                SepticSpark reluctantly nodded. There was a moment of silence, before Septic grips his outfit harder, and pulls Warfstache down, kissing him.

                Warfstache quickly reciprocated the kiss, grabbing him by his waist. They shared a moment of an almost anguished feeling of passion, Septic tearing himself away, sighing gently. “Don’t… Don’t leave me.”

                “What…?”

                “I need you. We’re… We’re a team. So stay with me.”

                Warfstache felt himself grin over that. “…Yes. I promise.”

                Septic smiled looking up to him, and chuckled very softly. “You look awful, by the way.” He teased quietly.

                “Ah… Sorry about that… I haven’t been sleeping much.” Warfstache replied slightly embarrassed like.

                “We’ll work this out… together, so you don’t need to lose anymore sleep.” Septic nuzzled his face into Warfstaches chest. It was a precious moment for the two… Until…

                They were suddenly interrupted by the crackling of what seemed to be thunder and screams of people in agony. They both hopped to action, peering down to what could possibly be happening. This person rained down lighting? Much like Septic’s powers, lightning reigned down suddenly controlled by seemingly the person who seemed to be glowing?!

                They both head down, people left and right being struck down. It stopped suddenly, and the supposed perpetrator was hopping onto a motorcycle riding off. “Septic! Go after them—I’ll take care of things here! GO!” Septic nodded, and activated his super speed ability, and quickly raced after the motorcycle man. He couldn’t get a clear site of him, his helmet over his head, a long flowing dark green hair moving in the wind, decked out in dark black and dark green clothing. Septic revved up his lightning, shocking the man on the motorcycle, causing the motor cycle to spinout and the man to be flung off it. He was definitely not a normal human, so he was sure this guy could handle a few injuries…

                He walked over rather confidently. “You monster! Why did you attack all those innocent people?” He growled, grabbing the man by his leather top, holding him up.

                The man seemed unresponsive—at first, but then he started to giggle rather uncontrollably. “It was a matter of time before I finally met you…” He said… The voice sounded… Scarily familiar. Not the fake Warfstache, but like… Like his own voice being put through some distortion device? The man grabbed his helmet, taking it off his head. “I’m you, of course.”

                Septic’s heart raced, he immediately dropped him, taking multiple steps back. “W-WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU?” He frantically yelled, trembling again.

                The man laughed, tossing his long dark green locks over his shoulder. He looked exactly like him, but his eyes were purple, and his skin was rather grey, with much more exaggerated pixie ears, and these odd designs under his eyes. But, he looked like he could be his twin. “You’re not very good at greetings, are you? I guess I’m not much of one for friendly banter anyways,” HE dashed forward, sucker punching Septic with a tough fist. “Anti’s the name. Though I guess since I’m you, I’d be ‘AntiSpark’, but that’s kind of a silly name, in all honesty.”

                “No… No, this is definitely not happening.” He was curled up into a ball, coughing roughly, a bit of blood dribbling the corner of his mouth.

                “Oh no, it is. A very loving scientist brought me into this world. Just a lock of your hair is all it took, clearly the cloning process made me far more superior of course… I mean look at you, writhing on the ground after one hit…”

                Septic was still suffering from yesterday’s fight, so he wasn’t in perfect shape for this.

                “Well, I have to be off, really. It was a pleasure to meet you. I was seeing if causing some chaos would drag you out sooner or later. Expect more, I’m not done~” Anti, as he called himself, lifted up the motorcycle over to his, jumpstarting it with his electric powers, hopping on the bike and riding off.

                Warfstache had changed back to his everyday outfit, simply because he feared police would be suspicious of him suddenly being around to help, so he acted as a normal civilian and helped everyone get to help. He hid again, changing back to Warfstache, and quickly following after Septic.

                He finally found his writhing on the street, in an abandoned part of town, holding himself from pain. Terrified Warfstache dashed to him, lifting his head up. “Septic! Oh god, are you okay? Did they escape…?”

                “Clone…” Septic muttered.

                “…Clone? What does that mean?” Warfstache wondered why he suddenly said that…

                “Clones… He’s… A clone, and there’s… More than one… He was me…”

                Warfstaches mind took a moment to piece it together when it finally clicked. “That man… Was your clone? That means the other guy…?”

                “Is your clone… Yes… I’m sorry I couldn’t stop him,”

                “It’s okay, you shouldn’t have been out tonight anyways… Especially after yesterday… I just want you to rest…”

                Septic sighed, wrapping his arms around Warfstaches shoulders, “Is this our fault…?”

                “No… It’s whoever made them fault. We’ll make sure they don’t ruin us. And they won’t terrorize the town anymore. I’ll make sure of it.” Warfstache softly kissed his forehead. “We’re heroes. It’s what we do, yeah?”

                Septic smiled nervously. “…Yeah. We’re heroes. We don’t give up after something like this.”

                “WAIT!” A voice yelled out. Suddenly, a boy with bright deep blue hair popped out of nowhere, out of breath, “M-Mister Warfstache! SepticSpark! I- I got that guy!”

                Septic quickly moved away from Warfstache, sitting up on his own, though still in some pain.

                “You did? How?” Warfstache inquired, standing up now, his eyes meeting with the strange blue haired boy with a mask. Another hero? Someone he hasn’t met… He seemed very young, too…

                They boy perked his head up with a large grin. “I was uh, around, and I… Erm, froze him and his bike…?” He had seemed somewhat excited before, but his confidence clearly dipped, getting a bit nervous. “O-Oh! My names, um, CrankGear- It’s kinda silly, um, I-”

                Warfstache stepped forward, patting his shoulder. “Hey, relax kid. Just show us where he is, okay?” Warfstache tried to calm him, looking to SepticSpark real quick, to make sure he was okay getting up on his own, which he did.

                “Y-Yes!” The boy, CrankGear apparently, hopped at the notion, and quickly guided Warfstache and SepticSpark to where he had left Anti.

                Septic was trailing close to Warfstache, still feeling pain, but it seemed to have faded a bit more so he felt fine walking. He kept looking over this kid, feeling odd about it… Was that the same kid who took him home yesterday? He thought his powers were invisibility… It was odd… But he was pretty sure it was him, but he didn’t bother to say anything really… They finally arrived at the scene to find that Anti wasn’t there- Rather, all that was left was his motorbike covered in shattered ice.

                “O-Oh my god, I didn’t think he’d escape… I-I’m so sorry, I—”

                “No! No, it’s okay. Don’t freak out, please.” Warfstache chuckled, walking towards the iced up motorbike. “He escaped, but he left his bike here. We could use this to find information on him, you did an amazing job helping us out.”

                Crankgear’s face bursted a reddish color from the praise, “I… I’m glad I could help then!”

                Warfstache ripped the bike out of the ice, “Well, the smartest thing to do now is to bring this to the police, id the licen—gUHH!” Warfstache was cut short by a grunt of pain, and the sound of four objects flying into his back, causing him to fall over.

                Both Crank and Septic were caught off guard by this, when suddenly came swooping down- The man who referred to himself as Dark! Septic felt pain rise again and his blood pressure shoot through the roof. Crank froze out of fear, freaking out.

                “Well, fun to see you again~” Dark’s smile turned into a devious smirk, he lifted up Warfstache, now passed out with four poisoned blades dug into his back. “I wasn’t sure how much of this poison it would take to knock him out, but it seemed four did the trick. Sorry to bother your guys little pow-wow, I just needed him real quick~ don’t worry, I don’t have any plans for either of you. At least not yet, that is.”

                Septic glared, “You’re not taking him ANYWHERE!” Septic gathered up electricity in his palms, dashing forward, directing the electricity blast into Darks faces. It stopped him, dropping Warfstache, to grab his face. Septic went to grab Warfstache, but Dark was not having it.

                “Why you little…” He sucker punched Septic square in his face, sending him flying through a window of a small shop behind him. Crank stared with fear, the ground beneath him freezing, he shot a blast of ice towards Dark, only to be deflected as if his arm was some power shield. Then Dark took a step forward, Crank falling to the ground out of defeat, holding his arms up while his whole body trembled.

                He winded his leg back, kicking Crank, sending him flying until he slammed his back into some car, its lights flashing and alarm blaring for all to hear. Dark then turned back and picked up Warfstache. “So much trouble over one guy, yeesh…” He rolled his eyes, looked around to make sure no one else was around, and disappeared into the night.


	16. A beginning to the end

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a loving reunion, it seems things between SepticSpark and Warfstache have been working out in their favor. That is, until Jack, and a new hero on the block, Ethan, get sent off, finding themselves in a possible hostage situation without knowing the whereabouts of Warfstache. Murphy's Law is in place, and no ones safe from it.

Jack couldn’t remembered what happened, when he had suddenly awoken, in a dark area… He was being tossed around and bumping and hitting the cold walls and ground… Wait, that wasn’t ground. It was like… Steel? Once the ringing in his ears finally stopped, he heard the beeping of cars, and the wheels skidding against pavement loudly as his body was sent half way across the ground at the sudden turn. He then realized he was in the back of a truck most likely, being carried god knows where, and it made him panicked. He tried to move his arms, but they were tied securely around his back with a very tight and uncomfortable rope.

                He wiggled around for a moment before finally being able to sit up again, and look around. There was barely any light, mostly darkness, spare the split of light he saw in the doors that locked the back of the truck, the light was very dim though, like the sun finally setting not giving a lot of luminance. He could use his lightning abilities to break free the rope by burning it… The small amount of light then caught ahold of another person with him, still unconscious. It was the boy, Ethan, which had helped him only two days ago—At least, he thought so, he felt like he lost time, he didn’t know…

                Quickly he shuffled close on his knees, seeing he was in fact unconscious and not dead. He sighed out of relief, and proceeded to attempt to singe off the rope… Only to be shot back with a reverberation of his own power. Clearly it was not normal rope, something that felt like rope but did not insulate electricity, therefore his lightning powers were quite useless. He grunted out of frustration, and looked closely at him. He used his foot to nudge Ethan a bit. “Hey, hey, wake up…” Maybe he could help the both of them out of these restraints…

                Ethan did not wake up, instead rolled over after the truck had hit another bump. He was out cold… Jack tried to use his speed to break through, maybe if he pulled apart fast enough he could tear the ropes… But they clearly took multiple pre-cautions to make sure they couldn’t break free… Whoever ‘they’ was. Jack didn’t get much more time to think about the situation when the truck made a full stop, and he heard footsteps walking to the back of the truck. He quickly laid back down, pretending to be unconscious so he could figure out what’s going on without whoever it was knocking him out again.

                The truck doors opened and two voice that sounded male were bantering, as they lifted Ethan and Jack out of the back. “Do you think this was a good idea?” Asked the first man. Throwing Ethan over his shoulder.

                “I hope so, I’m sure the boss would be pleased to have these two. It makes things a lot more interesting for tonight, something Dark easily overlooked.” The second man laughed, as if very pleased with his actions.

                For tonight, rang in Jacks head. What’s happening tonight? Some weird ritual? And what did Dark have to do with it…? Is that what he wanted Warfstache for? He had so many questions… But he didn’t want to indicate any measure of consciousness, otherwise it’d be trouble for him. Jack felt the door close behind him as the two men walked into some place, but he was too worried to open his eyes to confirm.

                The two of them were then tossed onto a rough carpet, one of the men stepping forward and kicking Jack square in the gut. “Guh--!” Jack grunted out of pain, coughing roughly. Jack watched the same happened to Ethan, who woke up and freaked out. “W-What? Where am I—” The man kicked him again.

                “Shut the hell up.” The man, in a Jason mask he saw now, and he turned away to look at something… Or, someone. Both Ethan and Jack turned to looked, and found a man standing there, wearing a mask covering his eyes to the tip of his nose, in a long dark pink cloak, under the cloak seemed to be some fancy suit.

                “Ah, welcome back. I was wondering what took you so long, we were about to start.” The man, with an accent Jack couldn’t put his finger on, smirked looking down to Jack and Ethan.

                “What is going on?” Jack scowled, writhing in his restraints, angry and slightly scared.

                The other man that had carried them in, a man in an owl mask, wounded up, but the man in the cloak held a hand up, and he stopped. “No, I’ll explain it, don’t worry.” He waved to an open door, and then Mister Dark himself came out, holding someone who had their face covered by a black bag. He tossed the man down in front of who Jack as assuming was the ‘boss’ now, and suspiciously looked to it.

                “Am I done here now?” Darks cold voice rang as he looked to the ‘boss’. The boss nodded, and handed him a suitcase. Probably filled with money… The man with the bag over his head was indeed Warfstache then! Dark was paid to take him to this guy.

                “You can stay if you’d like~” He smiled, and Dark only rolled his eyes, and disappeared. “Rude, I was trying to be polite. Oh well.” He ripped the bag off Warfstaches head, who seemed in complete compliance.

                “W-Warfstache…” Jack muttered, looking to him, his heart wrenching. Warfstache gazed dazed like to Jack.   

                “Ah yes, welcome, to long-coming death to Warfstache. Our biggest trouble, about to pay for what he’s done to us.” The boss man projected his voice, pulling out a picture of Kubz, a villain that was once among their midst. Warfstache recognized him… It was the man he had bashed the skull in on the night he thought SepticSpark was dead… He regretted it terribly so. He never wanted to be a murderer, even of bad guys… But it happened. And it was all his fault. “You cut us deeply, and now we’re going to make an example of you in front of two of your friends.” He laughed, pulling out a long sword from the sheath that held it on the wall.

                “No- NO! Don’t kill him! You hurt innocent people! He- He—” Jack sputtered out, trying to say anything at all.

                “SILENCE!” The boss yelled. “I’ll make sure these two beat you until you can’t speak anymore.”

                “Please don’t hurt them… That… That was the deal…” Warfstache muttered, his eyes staring to the ground, seeming prepared, maybe even wanting this.

                “What…? A deal…?” Jack felt tears poke to his eyes.

                “Oh, I guess you don’t know… We promised to spare your lives if we could have his. An eye for an eye, you understand? That’s all we want. We’ll let you free afterwards.”

                “Just… Look away, please…” Warfstache muttered, he sounded so weak and vulnerable which wasn’t like him at all.

                “No enjoy the show!” The boss cried of joy, his arms waving out. “We’ll even grace you with his true identity, a way to finally send him off forever!” He bent over, gently tapping the side of his mask. After a moment, Warfstaches costume changed back to everyday clothing, and his bright red flame hair fell to its dark brown/natural black color.

                Jacks eyes widened, and Ethan gasped, despite having been silent this whole time. Warfstache was revealed to be Mark, and he looked to the both of them. “Sorry… For never telling you, ahah…” Before dropping his head down again.

                Jack realized that he had been in love with Mark the whole time without even realizing it… And now he was going to lose him. Oh… Oh god… “You… You just promised to stay with me… You can’t just go and leave me right after promising me… You asshole…” Jack blubbered, tears flowing down his face. But Mark didn’t answer. He kept his head down, gritting his teeth. He seemed set in this, and that broke Jacks heart.

                “You guys are monsters and have hurt way more people!” Ethan yelled, finally finding his voice. “He’s better than any of you ever will be!”

                The boss ignored the banter, and continued on. “Enough of these blubbering idiots. Goodbye!” The boss lifted the sword up high over his head.

                Suddenly, Mark spoke again. “I’m sorry, Felix.” His quiet voice choked out.

                The ‘boss’ froze. “H… How did you know?” Wait a second. The boss—was Felix? This was getting weird.

                “F-Felix?” Jack stammered, seeing the boss surprised from this. His teacher- His friend, even…

                “I... Dark accidently told me… when he brought me here… I just… Wanted to say I was sorry. I never meant to hurt anybody.” Mark looked up to Felix, revealing he was also crying. “If getting rid of me makes it better, then please… I don’t deserve to live after what I’ve done.” It was clear Mark had this in the back of his mind and the thought of murdering someone wouldn’t leave him mind, and now he felt like he deserved this completely.

                Felix suddenly stopped. What was he doing? He was going to kill his friend over another friend… This was the most convoluted backward shit he’s ever done as a villain. Felix dropped his sword. “I… Dammit, what the hell was I doing? I can’t… I can’t kill you.” Felix ripped off his mask, and brushed his hair back, trying to keep his composure. “I-I, I’m…”

                Felix was then shut silent when suddenly he was tossed across the room, back slamming into a concrete wall. Everyone was caught off-guard, when a young woman in a ninja-esque costume stood there, holding Mark now, holding a knife to his throat. “I knew you were too soft.” The woman muttered, “You might not want to do this, but I will.”

                “Nini…” Felix breathed out.

                “Shut up, and stay down. I’m going to end this guy’s life right here, right now. He killed my best friend, my boyfriend… I’ll make you feel his suffering!”

                “STOP!!” Jack yelled again. He can’t watch this. He wasn’t going to let him die. Warfstache… No, Mark promised to stay with him and he isn’t going to let anyways ruin this! A rush of adrenaline pumped through Jack, and suddenly lightning came raining down from above, the only sound being heard over the thunder was Jacks own yelling, the ties holding him being broken. Lightning crash, striking everyone spare Ethan and Mark. His eyes glowed and his body raised, until the thunder and lightning faded, and he was down on the ground, the whites of his eyes green, green tears falling from his sore eyes.

                Once the power had dispelled, the room was filled with unconscious villains, Ethan shaking in terror, and no sign of Mark. He check each unconscious person, and he wasn’t anywhere…

                Jack wobbled over to Ethan, and untied him, Ethan looking to him. “A-are you okay? Your eyes…” He muttered.

                Jack touched under his eye, looking at the green tears. “I… I don’t know… I don’t even know what that was…”

                “Where Mark…?” Ethan questioned.

                “I don’t know…” Jack lifted Ethan up, “Let’s get out of here… He may have gonna somewhere in the midst of the mess… I’ll take you home…” He spoke weakly. He was worried without Mark in sight, but all the villains that were there were unconscious… He was scared, and worried that perhaps he had left on his own… Trying to disappear. 

                “Yeah… Okay, t-thank you…” Ethan held to Jack, using him as support.

 

                Jack wasn’t sure if he could sneak back onto campus with someone, so he of course went to Ethan’s first, propping Ethan up and helping him into the his house. Once inside, they both dropped down on the closest bed, Jack sitting down and gripping his head. Ethan looked to him, and spoke up for the first time since they left. “You don’t look so good…” He muttered.

                Jack looked to him and tried to chuckle softly. “I could say the same to you, kid…” He wiped off whatever that green stuff was, “My eyes aren’t… Um, green anymore, are they?”

                “Ah, no… It’s mostly gone… That was really weird though… Has that ever happened before?”

                “No… Especially not at that caliber. I felt like Storm or something, I didn’t realize my powers could go to that extent. It’s always just been like, lightning blast and stuff…” Jack brushed his hair back with his fingers. “I… I’m really in shock after everything… I can’t believe Mark is—”

                “I never would’ve thought either. He always seemed like he had the body of some jock type, but I don’t know why him being Warfstache never crossed my mind.” Ethan sighed, “I was being tutored by fucking Warfstache. That is cool. I am seriously worried about him disappearing like that… But, I have a feeling he did it upon his own whim…”

                “That’s what terrifies me.” Jack coughed a bit. I should head back… Maybe when were both recharged, starting a search party would be a smart idea… I can get Danny and some others.”

                Ethan seemed very exhausted, but he nodded. “Be safe…”

                Jack tipped him off, and then quickly left. All this crazy shit that’s been happening within the span of a few days… He just didn’t know what to do. He finally got back to the dorm, and was surprised when he saw a note left on the desk, accompanied by Marks phone, which seemed to be buzzing off the hook.

                Jack looked to the phone, finding spams of messages from Bob, Wade, and Tyler, three of Marks friends that he hasn’t seen for a while, worried since they haven’t heard from Mark in probably days… Jack actually took this opportunity to look at the phone, and saw that 2 days had passed since Mark was kidnapped, and all that happened apparently. Jack looked frantically for his phone—But he came to realize he had it before he got knocked unconscious, and therefore his phone is probably dropped in god knows where…

                He brought his attention back to the letter. Could it possibly be left by Mark somehow? He wasn’t sure if he believed it, but he decided to read it anyways.

                _Hey, Jack._

_This may be a bit sudden. Sorry that I’m having to write this suddenly. Thankfully, even after what this Dark guy did, He promised me he’d deliver this to you somehow. Not that I trust him, but I have no other choice. I’ll try to explain, but it probably won’t be the best._

~What Happened~

                “I’m going to die, aren’t I?” I chuckled, weak and laying against the wall. My body was weak. The most I could do was stumble and crawl around.

                “Probably. Felix is a fuckin weakling, though, so he may have someone else do it for him. I’m just holding onto for my money.” Dark stated, scrolling through his phone, probably messaging other clients like he had mentioned before, I even heard him talking to them a few times. Mostly middle aged men looking for assassins it seemed. So that’s what he does… He’s an assassin with a thing for giant public stunts clearly. Not the most subtle guy. Though, he had similar DNA as I did, and I also tended to be a bit flashy and show-offy, ahah, so it wasn’t a surprise…

                Wait—did he say Felix? “…Felix hired you?” I questioned, looking slightly surprised.

                “Ah, whoops. Well, you’re gonna die so it doesn’t matter. Yeah, Felix is his name. I feel like ‘Diepie’ is too stupid to be saying over and over,” Dark grumbled, shoving his phone into his pocket. “I haven’t had such a yappy person to watch for a while… Makes it worse knowing we share DNA.”

                “Ah… About that,” I didn’t want to dwell too hard on that fact knowing it was Felix of all people… It made me quite uncomfortable “You’re my clone… Yeah…?” I already knew, but I wanted to see if he could elaborate some.

                He shrugged, “That’s what I was told. Apparently you left some DNA behind in Doctor Blaques lab, and she had fun trying out some of her cloning stuff. And here I am.”

                “And Anti…?” I inquired.

                “Ah, him. Yeah, after knocking out the Doc, I let him out of his cloning chamber thingy.”

                “Knocked out the doc?” I looked to him very confused, wondering what he could possibly mean.

                “Yeah, knocked her out cold. I guess she figured she could control us as puppets, and was even trying to terminate Anti. But, I decided it’d be more fun to have some fun on my own.” Dark admitted, propping his foot against the wall. “But, Anti seemed attested to me, and disappeared before I got a chance to talk more. So I don’t know what he’s up to now. Think he’d at least be grateful for me saving his life, him? Meh, I don’t hold grudges too much.”

                “Did you kill the doctor?” I asked reluctantly.

                “Nah. But Anti did. He had a small fit of rage and murdered her.” Dark nonchalantly answered me, sending chills up my spine. So he’s like that, then… Which was already apparent from his lack of care for life or proper motive to kill that was recently demonstrated.

                “I… I see.” I managed to respond. “Could I ask you to do one thing for me? Before I die?” I speak up again.

                “I don’t do final request, I’ve already gotten tired from talking to you and answering your dumb questions.” Dark growled.

                “I’ll pay you everything I have on me.”

                Dark lifted an eyebrow, and shrugged. “Fine. What is it?”

                “I’m… I’m gonna write a letter. I just want you to make sure Jack… SepticSpark receives it. I’ll put an address on it.”

                “Well, I have nothing else scheduled for today, so I will. Hand me the money.”

                I handed over my debit card, the pin scratched into the back of it for him. I didn’t need it anymore, I figured. Since I’ll be dead soon… He can take whatever, not that he had a lot, but he’ll probably just suck it dry.

                _And that’s when I started to write this letter to you. Excuse the awful handwriting, it hurts to move too much and this will probably turn out very sloppy. I’m not even sure if I can die… I probably can if I’m hurt in a specific way, but my regeneration powers are very unpredictable. If I don’t die, I’ll be gone. I’m no hero, you know? I’m sorry I never told you I was Warfstache, or told you that I knew your identity, but I guess that was easy for you to know yourself, but I’m still sorry for never telling you._

_I just can’t do this. All my victories eventually lead to more pain, sadness, and the more prevalence of bad people popping up. Maybe if I’m finally gone, you’ll be able to have more free time. I won’t stress you out. Maybe less bad guys will pop up to challenge me and attack me and in turn end up getting you and other innocent lives caught in the mix. I will be either dead or permanently gone. And I am so sorry._

_Goodbye everyone. And Sean William Mcloughlin… I love you. After I lost Arin, my first partner as a superhero… I thought I should just be a loner hero forever. And I should’ve continued that, instead I let us get entangled and brought you into this mess of bad luck I bring. But I didn’t and I’m so sorry. I will always love you. You don’t understand I’ve always been in love with you, even when we first met just as each other, being roommates, all those awkward moments of mine were mostly me being awkward and loving you from far away. And being able to kiss you eventually was something I was never could’ve imagined happening. Be strong. Keep the city safe, but also stay safe yourself, okay? In another life, where we don’t have the burden of these powers and responsibilities, where were just two normal people… Yeah. We could finally be happy then. Can’t wait to see you._

_-Warfstache, AKA Mark Edward Fischbach_

Tears dropped down to the crumbled up sheet, Jack finally looking up away, his trembling body dropped down. So… Even if he wasn’t dead, he was gone forever... “You’re so fucking selfish, Mark…” Of course Jack didn’t really think that, but his heart was torn apart. A moonbeam shone through the window, illuminating very little in the room, shining right onto him though. “Mark…” He sniffled, dropping the letter. “MARK!!” He shouted then, with the last bit of voice he had left, dropping his face into his hands, crying and yelling, filled with agony, feeling nothing but pain, sadness, and heartbreak. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> umm.... if you need some relief from this rather freaky chapter, my deviantart, AllItalianRejects has some sweet kisses between warfstache and septicspark to help out :') idk if you wanna go and look at it tho idk just if you need some actual cute septiplier to relieve ya. whoopsie. hope it was good though, ive been planning out this chapter forever and rearranged it in my dreams like 500 times lol rip


	17. Cloaks and Kidnapping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny decided everyone needed some healing session time, things are awkward but maybe actually helping? Only for so long, it seems....

                _Yesterday, everyone across California mourned on social media together as we learn that Warfstache is no longer among us. It’s not specified whether he’s currently dead or MIA, but when we looked over the letter that college student Sean William Mcloughlin allowed the police to examine, we’ve determined that Warfstaches identity was Mark Edward Fischbach, born in Hawaii, raised in Cincinnati, has been living in California, attending USC, for the past two years. He has protected our beautiful city of Los Angeles as well as other places in California. The letter stated that by reading the letter it meant he was either dead, or was leaving forever, never to show again._

 _We worry he may be dead, but we’re not exactly confirming or denying anything here. All we know is we have lost him, and will forever miss him as he holds strong in our hearts. Memorial Services are being held by police officers around the city who personally knew him from working with them in the past when catching criminals. We actually have contact with Mark’s mother and brother—_ CLICK!

                “Ross, this isn’t the time to be watching TV, especially when that’s playing.” Danny said, shutting off the TV, glaring at him.

                “It’s fine…” Jack muttered, walking into the room behind Danny. He looked sad, exhausted, and just over all done. “I think… I’m just gonna go home.” Jack said, sitting down on the couch next to Ross.

                “Dude, you can’t just leave because of this.” Danny placed a hand on his shoulder. “He’d want you to stay. To continue protecting the city. He just wants you to be okay, you have to understand where he’s coming from…” He looked into Jacks eyes, with a sad look. “Besides, you have plenty of people here that still care for you. Like us.” He tried to smile to him. “And if you stay, who knows what will happen.”

                “There’s no point. What he wants… Is to escape… I just wish he would’ve taken me away from it too.” Jack sighed, sitting down on the couch next to Ross. “I’ll stay a few more nights… But I should probably make plans to head home.”

                Danny sat with them and sighed softly. Seems there’s no changing his mind… “Hey, how about order some food and invite everyone over, help ease everyone? All of us are in pain… So maybe it’d be a good healing session to all talk and eat.” Danny seemed happy with that idea, enthusiastically looking to Jack.

                He sighed softly, brushing a hand through his hair. “I suppose… It may help a bit. Call everyone up, yeah?”

                “Alright!” Danny got out his phone, and went ahead with planning.

 

                About two hours later, people had gathered around to Danny’s place finally. Danny, Ross, Brian, Barry, Holly and Jack were all already there, Bob and Wade showed up a couple minutes later, talking about how Tyler is probably going to be late. Ken and Marzia had to basically drag Felix there, and aside from his normal self he was extremely quiet and reserved, mostly avoiding Jack. Ethan also came, invited by Jack. They gathered together, sitting around on the couches, ordering pizza to arrive soon, decided to do some talking. Getting together to vent out their feelings may really help the situation, few of them hoped.       

                “I really hope this isn’t another one of your attempts at a spiritual session with your friends, Danny.” Holly teased, leaning over a bit trying to get comfortable on the couch.

                “I meaannnn, it kind of is, but hey. Think of it as forceful therapy, or something.” Danny joked back, standing before everybody. “I just thought maybe if we all just hung out like friends, and talked about everything… It’d be a lot easier on us, you know?” Dan smiled, clearly just trying to do something good here. “Also pizza should arrive any minute now, so we’ll all be in high spirits and ready to talk.”

                “Hope the pizza hurries up, I’m starving mostly, I feel like I’m gonna start biting off heads.” Wade laughed, patting his stomach while leaning back. They kinda just looked to Wade and mostly started laughing, Danny finally getting off his imaginary pedestal and sitting amongst his friends, between Ross and Jack, wrapping his arms around their shoulders.

                “See, being together can easily help us all lighten the mood.” Danny said, kicking his feet up on the coffee table, sighing. “We’re all hurting… But we’re all good friends and should be fine with just letting out our emotions. No insecurities holding back, okay?” He looked to Jack, and Jack simply sighed, giving him a smile. It did feel better having everyone around… But it was also weird… And Felix wouldn’t even dare to look at him. Jack… Wasn’t mad at him. He couldn’t be… Something inside of him wanted to be mad, but… He wasn’t.

                Danny noticed he was staring at Felix. “Is something up with him?” He questioned. Jack jumped out of his thoughts, and looked back to Danny, shaking his head.

                “No, erm… I actually don’t know.” Jack turned his head away, placing his hands in his lap. Danny wanted to push him for answers, but this was a time they had to be there for each other and let up a little bit. Danny ruffled up Jacks hair with a cheeky smile.

                “Don’t stress yourself. That’s the opposite of what we need right now.” Danny tried to cheer him up, when the doorbell rang. “Ah! That must be the pizza. Ross, help me get it all.” They both went to grab the pizza, and came back a moment later, and everyone started digging in. Danny set some music up on his small stereo, while everyone was banting and stuffing their faces with pizza.

                Jack had enjoyed being with everyone for a little, but he felt his heart swell and tears poke at his eyes, socializing was building up stress and he really didn’t understand why he wanted to suddenly burst into tears. Well, he did. He was thinking heavily about Mark and it hurt… It just felt so odd to be surrounded by everyone minus one… He abruptly stood up, and started to head to the stairs. He felt like he needed to be alone… Everyone looked to him concerned, then Felix suddenly got up as well.

                “Jack.” Felix spoke up, following after him now. Jack turned, surprised to see Felix walking right up to him. “I’m… So sorry.” He said, and then lunged forward to embrace him tightly.

                Jack was taken back, surprised. He felt the tears the pricked his eyes finally spill, and he tightly wraps his arms around Felix in return, holding on for dear life. Everyone was watching this, slightly confused, but one by one, everyone got up and went over, until they all were in a big group hug. Jack felt overwhelmed by all of this—but in a rather positive manner. He started crying, “I love all of you guys…” Jack sobbed out, feeling himself smile slightly. He… Had everyone here who felt the same pain as him. And they were all there for him as much as he was there for them. This is the best he’s felt ever since everything happened… Even if this could only take him away from his anguish of losing Mark for so long, it was very important to him to acknowledge his friends sometimes too.

 

                The day passed and everyone had gone home, sharing laughter, tears, and quite some emotions. Once everyone had left that didn’t live with Danny, Jack gripped Danny in a tight hug. “Thanks for everything, man.” He said, smiling to him.

                Danny nodded, “No problem dude, we’re all here for you.” Danny backed up, and looked him over. “Are you going somewhere?” He questioned, looking to his sneakers.

                Jack smiled slightly, “Yeah, just gonna go parole a bit as myself. Get back into the flow… Since I know I won’t have Warfstache, I have to make sure I haven’t gotten too rusty on my own.” He chuckled gently.

                Danny shrugged, “You guys were literally the best duo, so shit, it must be weird. Stay safe, yeah?”

                Jack planted his hand on Danny’s shoulder, affirming with a head nod. He then turned, heading towards the door. “See you!”

                Danny waved him off, and sighed softly when he was gone. “Hope he’ll be okay… I can’t help but worry.”

 

                Jack pressed down on his piercings, and transformed into his suit, and took to a rooftop per usual. “Sam!” He called out, and Sam popped out of nowhere, wrapping its green tail around Jacks shoulder. “There ya are little buddy. Do me a favor and go on lookout, yeah?”

                Sam hopped up and did as he said, scanning the city. Suddenly Sam stopped, and looked to a hooded figure in the distance, noting he seemed suspicious, and he seemed to be following them. Jack turned, finding a man completely covered in a black cloak and hood. Jack sprung forward at him, scaring him, prompting his to disappear, leaving behind a smoke bomb in his place.

                Once Jack had calmed his coughing fit, he looked up to see no trace of the person, and sighed. “Who the hell was that..?” He looked to Sam for an answer, but he didn’t really have one. “Well that certainly was strange.” He sighed, dropping down from the rooftop into an alley carefully used his electricity to carefully glide him down. “Guess I’ll just search manually, hoping whoever that was doesn’t follow…” Jack looked around, sneaking around, making sure possible criminal activity won’t notice him before he notices them.

                While searching he finds… Dark. Past an iron fence that was most likely filled with electricity, he found him, harassing some old overweight business man… The man had trembled and handed over a rather large suitcase, and ran off in terror. Just as he was about to play the part of SepticSpark again and hop the fence, Dark appeared in front of him with a poof of black smoke, causing him to yelp and fall back—His back hitting hard against a brick wall of the building they were behind.

                “Sweetheart~ it’s so nice to see you again!” Dark smiled deviously, stepping forward, gripping Septic’s chin and tilting it up towards him, “I heard about your boyfriend… So tragic that he’s either dead or just MIA… You must be lonely~” He stuck his tongue out.

                “Yuck. Don’t fuckin call me that. Besides, it’s your fuckin’ fault,” Septic made the ‘yuck’ noise with the back of his throat, trying to shove Dark away, but he was standing there like stone, so he turned his head away from Darks grip on his chin. “You smell like cheap perfume off prostitutes and liquor. The hell do ya want from me?”

                “Ruuuudee~” He whined, leaning in, his grip still tight on Septic. He kissed his cheek and that’s when SepticSpark shoved him away with full force, knocking him back a step. “Don’t be that way, I think I’m being pretty nice.” His eyes glossed over Septics figure and he felt very insecure at the moment.

                “Your attitude changed from the last time we met… You went from ice cold to some kinda man-whore,” Septic spit out, wiping his cheek.

                “Those aren’t very nice words. I’ve just been learning to let loose when I’m off-duty, you feel me? I was only a big meanie before ‘cause I was doing my job. I’m off the clock right now baby, so having fun is what I do when I don’t gotta job to do,” He stepped forward again, his hand grabbing his hips—Even slipping down to grab Septics ass, receiving Dark a well-deserved punch connected to his jaw. Dark grabbed where he was punched, hissing slightly, stretching his jaw out after the impact. “Well, you’re just as feisty as your counterpart indeed…”

                “Who?” Septic held his knuckles. The skin was starting to turn brownish purple already…

                “Anti, of course.” Dark bent his neck in a way that it cracked, and turned back to Septic. “Well, he sucker punched me in the gut instead. I slide my hand up his thighs, and he was not too happy. You both have such nice bodies… I think I like yours better though, more… Innocent, soft…” He licked his lips.

                “Go fuck some random at a bar, I’m not a piece of meat.”

                “I mean I could, but there’s an obvious assertion of dominance there… I’m sure you and I could have a lot more fun tussling around, what do you say?”

                “You disgust me.”

                “Ohhh talk dirty to me~”

                “Jesus- Nope, not dealing with this,” Septic wound his fist back, electricity gathering in his first, when Dark grabbed his hand, seeming to overpower his lightning fist, and then gripping the front of his suit.

                “Nuh-uh, you’re not getting away that quickly~” Dark shoved Septic roughly against the wall, receiving a grunt from him.

                Septic seemed to be trying to figure out how to break ahold from him, and how he overpowered him so quickly—Could he be immune to lightning? But suddenly, that strange man in the black cloak appeared again. Under the black hood, he seemed to be wearing a mask—Like a Japanese fox mask. What were those called? Septic couldn’t exactly remember, but was mesmerized by the way he watched him easily knock Dark down a few pegs, slamming him into the ground, grabbing the suitcase of money Dark had received earlier from that terrified man, and stomped down roughly onto his chest. Dark grabbed him by the ankle and threw him to the wall, coughing up… Blood…? Darks blood was like… Completely black. Well he’s technically not human, so the strange blood definitely made sense…

                Septic found this was his chance to step forward and lifted down lightning from above, striking Dark hard with it. Dark yelled, in anguish, which he was relieved about—thankfully, Dark wasn’t completely immune to his powers, maybe just his weaker attacks. He turned away from Dark, who was struggling to pick himself up again, but before he knew it he was lifted into the cloaked man’s arms, and he was running with him. Septic was confused. He was the speedy runner, he wasn’t sure why this strange person had grabbed him and ran off with him. He hoped he didn’t know his embarrassed flushed cheeks as he wrapped his arms around his shoulders. Overall, it did seem he fared well and soon they both lost track of Dark, and the man had placed Septic back down.

                “Who are you?” Septic questioned, stepping forward. He… Wanted to remove the mask, but he saw the cloaked man turn away. Without a word he seemed to just—disappear into thin air, leaving the money with him. That was fucking weird, but he was damn relieved he got him out of that situation, and with the money too. He lifted the suitcase. “Well… Hopefully that’s a mystery I discover for another day.” Though he had no clue what to do with the suitcase now… The man must’ve given it to Dark for killing someone, or maybe embezzling company funds or hiding some scandal—the list goes on and on. The smartest thing to do now was to turn it over to the police.

                Soon that was out of the way, and he couldn’t get that mystery man out of his head… It was so strange, and out of the blue. He was watching him almost creepily earlier, but then helped him out…? Ugh, his head hurt. He was standing around now, just wandering the city in his normal clothes. No point in scrambling about in your hero outfit if nothings really going on. Meeting that mystery man… Something about it even felt, familiar.

                About half way through his walk, he realized. It was familiar… It was definitely a different situation all together, but it reminded him of the first time he ever met Warfstache… Well, he had met   
Mark way before, but meeting the actual Warfstache… That scene, the air of mystery everything was really triggering his memories, and he felt tears poking his eyes in no time. Dammit, you’re not about to cry randomly on the street, Jack thought to himself. He should probably head back now, Danny may have worried not hearing from him in some time now. He hoped desperately he wouldn’t run into Dark again, he never realized a clone on Mark could be such a creep. Then again Mark was kinda an egotistical pervert at times, so actually, it wasn’t completely far off. Okay, maybe that’s too mean.

                Suddenly he started getting his phone buzzing off the chain, and he found it was Danny calling. Oh dear, hoped he was okay… He answered the call, worried “Hello? Danny?”

                “Jack, I need you to be on the lookout RIGHT NOW.” Danny frantically spoke into the phone, sounding like he was fumbling around.

                “Wha-?” Jack tried to question it but got his answer real quick.

                “Arin and Suzy—they’re gone, they broke out I don’t know how but—Please, look for them. I’m going to go on the lookout very soon while Ross tries to figure out how the hell they got out—But please, start searching.”

                Jacks eyes widened and he nodded immediately, “I’m on it! They shouldn’t be too hard to stick out like a sore thumb.”

                “You’re a life saver.” Danny said, before hanging up.

                Jack shoved his phone into his pocket, and pressing down on his earring he quickly transformed into his hero outfit and was quick to jump the gun and look with determination. With his speed, there (hopefully) wouldn’t be too much trouble… After a few minutes he found them—both of them, unconscious over the shoulders of the same caped man from before. What…? What was he doing? Jack swooped in front of him, spreading his arms out wide like a barrier.

                “What the hell do you think you’re doing? You just were acting like some hero and now you’re kidnapping my friends?” Jack looked upset, but with a strong solid look on his face as he stared down the cloaked man.

                “You don’t understand.” The cloaked man finally revealed his voice—actually, not really. His voice was obviously being distorted, most likely by something in his mask because it sounded rather computer generated. “I’m helping them.”

                “Helping? Where the hell are you taking them?” Jack stood strong, ready to pounce on the cloaked man at a moment’s notice.

                “I cannot explain to you. At least not now.” He stepped forward. “Now please, let me through. I don’t want to use excessive force.”

                “Release them, or I’ll release all hell onto you!”

                “I’m sorry.” He placed them down gently. Jack took this as an opportunity to attack him, but before his feet would respond, the cloaked man was pressed right against him, his elbow smacking into the back of his neck.

                Jack yelled, falling over, fuck, fuck—the cloaked man leaned down, grabbing him before he hit the ground, he apologized again, and Jack was quick to lose consciousness because of where he was hit.

                “You’ll understand soon.” He spoke, brushing Jacks hair that had fallen over his face out of the way, a soft sad look. He saw Danny appear in the distance, and gently leaned Jack against a wall, knowing he’d be safe with Danny. He stood up again, lifting Arin and Suzy’s bodies back over his shoulders. “I love you… But I have to keep you in the dark for now. Be safe.” The cloaked man knew Jack couldn’t hear him, but he said it anyways, and was off with the wind.

                Danny soon rushed into the alley where he found Jack unconscious, and saw the man seemingly disappear into dust. He leant over to Jack who was leaned against the wall, and started shaking him. “Jack! Jack, what happened?!”

                Jack looked to him, waking slightly. “I… He’s gone… He ran off… With them both…” He breathed a bit heavily, looking pathetically to Danny.

                “He?? That cloaked person?? Who is he?” Danny panicked, holding Jack in his arms.

                “…The cloaked man… I don’t know who he is… But, he… He said, ‘you don’t understand’… I’m sorry, I tried to stop him…”

                “No no no no, Jack, it’s okay… It’s okay, let’s get you back… You probably just need some rest now… We’ll find them.”

                “I’m sorry…” Jack said again, but Danny helped prop him up, and headed back with him.

                Jack was helped into the guest room and laid down on the bed. “Guh… I’m always so useless… I fail at the one thing I’m supposed to be,” Jack sighed, sitting up and pulling his knees up to his chest.

                “You’re not useless… facing some people alone is dangerous depending on the person… We may be dealing with someone like Doc Blaque that has powers like us…” Danny theorized, but Jack wasn’t so sure about that. Merely he didn’t say anything in return apart from a loud exhale. The man was certainly strange… But maybe there was something else to it. “You should rest. We can get a search team together tomorrow morning.”

                Jack sighed again, feeling awful. Danny even delayed the search and everything for him… He didn’t want him to. He wanted them to find them and not be such a nuisance… “I’ll help you all day tomorrow. I won’t give up… I promise.”

                Danny gave him a soft smile. “Thank you. Now just rest up tonight. We could definitely use your speed for searching. But don’t do any fighting without us. If he can knock you out with one hit, who knows what he could do…” Danny muttered, turning towards the door. “Just want everyone to stay safe… So I’m gathering a few other heroes to help us look. If we team up, we can do it. Don’t worry.”

                “Alright… Goodnight, Danny.”

                “Goodnight.” Danny left, shutting the door.

                Jack was there all alone now, pulling the covers over his tired body. He knew he shouldn’t start blaming himself for it, but he really wanted to, it was sitting there in his head, eating at him… He felt tears poke at his eyes, and he quickly wiped them away. No, you we’re going to start looking at the crack of dawn tomorrow… He wasn’t going to return until he found them and made up for this failure. HE was tired of being a failure and he would no longer allow that to be the case. He was ready.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for being a slowpoke with updates I'm doing my best to get more regular updates but we'll see how it works out. I am not going to abandon this tho i promise you because I have so much love and ideas for this.   
> This chapter didn't have a lot of fighting really except for a brief scene, and also sorry about my Darkiplier being a total pervert. I started working on him a bit ago and I kinda had the idea he was a cold assassin at work and afterwards he was some playboy wannabe, I thought it'd be fun to write. Poor Sean for dealing with Dark being a nasty boy.   
> Who is the cloaked man? I mean I'm sorry if it's too obvious im gonna go climb off a cliff or something idk but seriously dont say it in the comments if u know lolol


	18. Masked man mystery unmasked?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack is prepared to put all his effort into finding his friends and taking down the mysterious man in a mask.   
> But as soon as he believes the mystery is tied together, new things open up over and over.   
> Can he handle everything on his own or will a new ally open up his wings?

Jack was up and revved next morning to go back out. He was actually pretty energized—and he was not going to let Danny down. He slid down the stairs via the railing, and found Danny gathering stuff in a bag. Probably supplies, who knows how long they’ll be out searching? It was a smart idea indeed. Like they were going on some expedition almost. Jack popped up behind him, “Morning, Danny!”

                Danny jumped, almost throwing a water bottle he held across the room, causing Jack to laugh and almost fall over “Jesus! We get it you’re a loud Irish man,” Danny chuckled, scratching his hand into his curly hair with a sigh, “At least you’re energized today, that’s a relief. I got sick of seeing you fumble around like a sad sap.” Danny nudged him, putting more stuff away into the small bag.

                “Well, it’s probably because I actually have something to focus on. Distract from myself and help out, like I’m supposed to, ya?” Jack shrugged, grabbing an apple from a fruit bowl on the kitchen counter, and biting into it.

                “Distracting yourself can be one way to deal with things, I suppose.” He shrugged, zipping up the bag closed, and shoving it to Jack. “There’s your bag. I got everything all ready now.” Danny pulled his own bag over his shoulder, and started heading towards the door. “Dan and Phil are gonna be searching as well… And I think Ross and Holly have already left, I was just waiting for you to get up… I don’t want to get everyone involved though, it could get messy really…” Danny pulled his phone out, “We’re gonna split up, but if you see any sign of them anywhere, call us first. Don’t be headstrong.” He said as they walked through the doors together. Jack nodded, a more nervous chuckle this time.

                “Yeah, don’t worry. I’ll try not to be so brash this time.” Jack continued walking with him, and then once out of sight he pressed down on his earring and transformed, and Danny did the same, pressing down on a blue ring he had on his thumb, and they both were in full costume now.

                “Don’t forget to eat or drink if this takes a long time. I stocked your bag with stuff, so.” Danny patted his back, and Jack made a quite noise of agreement.

                “I’m going to travel around the city, in empty and abandoned building first.” Jack said, holding steadily on his bag, surveying the area for a moment.

                Danny shrugged, “Alright, Then I guess I’ll skirt on the city limits. Dan and Phil got the desert, Holly and Ross with any valley areas, so they’re also not in the city. Because we don’t know where he’s gone…”

                “I’ll do my best. I won’t mess up again, I promise.” Jack said, and Danny just quietly smiled.

                “It’s fine. I trust you. Call me.” Danny then headed off, leaving Jack to his own devices.

He hid in an alley, and called upon Sam, who popped up over his shoulder. “Heya, Sammy. Need you to calculate all of the abandoned buildings around, can you do that?”

                Sam hopped up and went immediately to search. They located many buildings together, going through them as thoroughly and quickly as possible, but it seemed useless, since any sign of them being anywhere was scarce. Finally it seemed the sun was gone and it was time to take a breather, he had almost forgotten to eat, even. Jack leaned against a brick wall and grabbed a sandwich from the bag casted over his shoulder, and went ahead and tried to relax and eat before continuing on his search.

That was, until his concentration was thrown off by the tugging of his pant leg, and when he turned he found a young girl, without anyone around supervising her. “Excuse me…” Her soft voice spoke up, looking sadly to Jack.

                “Oh jeez, where’s your mommy and daddy, little girl?” Jack asked with concern, crouching down.

                “I lost them… Somewhere that way,” She pointed down the street, and she started to cry “H-help me find them…!”

                Jack felt his heartstrings tugged at, and he sighed. “Alright, let’s go then. We’ll probably find them in no time, I bet they’re worried sick o’er ya,” Jack stood, grabbing the girls hand and heading down the street. Suddenly the girl dropped his hand and ran down an alley. “H-hey! That’s dangerous! Your parents probably aren’t—” He chased after her and went silent feeling a taser jabbed into his neck. “…Well, that’s not very nice. Using your kid for some robber ploy, huh?” Jack turned around, unaffected by the taser of course.

                “I- I—” The old man’s voice stuttered, dropping the taser. “Who are you…?”

                “Doesn’t matter.” Jack turned around, brushing his hands off together, “We’re gonna do this the easy way, or the hard way. And I don’t think your little angel over there needs to see that.”

                The man was trembling slightly, but managed to pull a gun out of his waistband.

                “Hard way it is then.” Jack sent electrifying pulses directed at the man’s hand to drop the gun, and make him fall over. Then there was the little girl to deal with… He didn’t know what to do there.

                “Thank you…!” The little girl squealed, rushing over to hug Jack, and he seemed a bit lost. Oh dear. Maybe the kid was kidnapped by this man and forced to do what she did, and not actually his child. How awful that guy was. He lifted the young girl up into his arms.

                “C’mon, we’ll take you to the police station so we can find your mommy and daddy for real this time.” Jack smiled, and the girl nodded, wrapping her short arms around his neck.

                “Thank you for being so gullible~!” Her sweet voice chimed, and then she suddenly warped into a malformed creature, growing 4x in size, four arms and some odd mixture of scales and fur growing out from beneath the scales like some strange non-existent animal mistake. Her claws grew and dug into Jack until he yelped, dropping down and running electricity through the creature with his fist, launching it backwards.

                “Welp, that’s what I get for helping without being cautious… Dammit, I don’t have time for this,” Jack tried to jump back but the creature rammed into his gut, being tossed out of the alley and back landing against a random car, the horn blaring, the creatures appearance causing yelling and commotion by passing civilians.

                Jack brushed himself off, his eyes squinting to the chimera, and his fist curling up. He watched the chimera charge up to him once again and this time he grabbed the chimera by its face, electrical currents flowing through his hands and lifted them high up into the air, and then slammed back down onto the ground. “I got shit to do.”  Jack stepped forward and hovered a hand over the chimera, shocking it down with a blast of electricity but it was interrupted by a kick landing down into his side, tossing him facedown against the ground.

                Jack groaned, using all his might to pull himself up, but whoever attacked him out of the blue had their foot steady on the center of his back. “W-what the hell…?” Jack sputtered out, hearing a familiar laugh behind him. So familiar… It was…

                “Nice to see you again~” It was Dark, his foot pushing down hard onto Jacks spine, causing him to basically gasp for air. Dark finally pulled his foot off of Jacks back, and Jack flipped over and hopped up quickly. “It’s not so nice of you to hurt my pet like that~” He cooed, bending over to the chimera, petting its head for some weird reason. “They were merely a big diversion, nothing serious, so I could get ahold of you and it worked.” He said, brushing his hair back with his fingers.

                “Well, what’s the big deal, asshole?” Jack coughed roughly, trying to get his airflow back to normal, standing up right again with an angered stare in Darks direction. “What’s so fucking important? I got shit to do, I’m not here for kiddy games or your nasty innuendos again,”

                “None of that! No no, rather I wanted to confer you with some information. A tidbit. Also I merely knocked you down as a payback for yesterday,” He smiled rather passive-aggressively, trying to pass it off innocently. “It’s about your little friends.”

                “What exactly do you know about them? Do you know the cloaked man?” Jack decided to amuse him, he may actually milk out some useful information.

                “Do I know who oh boy~ I do indeed! Actually, you do as well! But revealing his identity would be no fun… It would ruin the surprise, the spontaneity, really, I can’t say,” He flipped his red hair back, “But I can tell you where he’s hidden, that would help you and your friends quite a bit, huh?”

                Jack squinted his eyes, feeling his blood boil. So this asshole thinks this is really funny, huh? And was he being legit when he said he knew him…? A part of him really hoped he didn’t, especially after learning some others identities recently… “Alright, fine. What do I have to do to get the location?” He scowled, very suspicious of what he was going to possibly request.

                “Oh, not too much… Just your powers~” Dark smirked, a sinister look- his eyes seemed to glow as they poured into Jack, making him feel extremely uncomfortable.

                “How the hell…?” Jack started to question, but Dark was quick.

                “There’s a little fact about us we’ve never mentioned… The doc gave us the ability to absorb powers of other super humans- of course, we can only do it with permission and a handshake. It’s kind of like… A business interaction, per say.” Dark shrugged, “It would relieve you of everything… Of your duties, and most of your pains at least… No more playing hero with the big guys… Go home, have a hot chocolate and get some well-deserved rest… Doesn’t that sound so good?”

                Jack stared to him. Was he… Serious? He could sap his powers away that easily? At first he was very upset Dark thought he would even consider it. But… He couldn’t help but let his mind think about it. He could let it all go… He could feel void of responsibility… He quickly shook his head, shouting. “Hell no!” Jack stepped forward, “I’m not giving up my powers! I have a duty to do. Giving you my powers would give you more reason to wreak havoc, I will not allow it! Mark might be gone, but I’m still fookin’ here and I will not be tricked by your bullshit! Now just tell me where the hell they are!”

                “Aww, and you really seemed interested for a moment too… That’s upsetting, this will be a lot harder than I originally wanted…” Dark exhaled rather dramatically, turning his head away. “Oooooh babe, do please show yourself, I’m gonna need a bit of help~” He seemed to have waved off to the distance. Out of the darkness, Anti stepped forward, his long green hair draped gently over his shoulder, in that same torn up cool guy wannabe black and green outfit.

                “Call me babe again and I’ll be rippin’ yer throat out, you got that?” Anti glared over to Dark, and he received a rather ridiculous laugh from him. Anti merely growled and peered back over to Jack, “Seems we finally are face to face. It’s definitely peculiar I’ll say,”

                “You’re tellin’ me…” Jack muttered, shuddering awkwardly. “What, you guys think you can intimidate me into this or something? I’m not changing my mind.” Jack stood his ground. He contemplated calling Danny here… But, what if it’s for naught and they don’t really know where he is? He’d be wasting Danny’s time again, just lead up to another damn let down… He shook his head… No, he couldn’t. He couldn’t let him down. He was going to deal with these two fucking goonies and he was going to find that cloaked man and teach him a lesson or two.

                “Let’s get down to business, then?” Anti cracked his neck, and stretched his arms out. “I’ve really been looking forward to contesting myself. Stand down Dark, let me have fun yeah?” He smirked, flipping his hair over his shoulder.

                “He’s all yours.” Dark said, stepping away, leaning against a brick wall, foot propped up against it flat.

                Jack felt his nerves ride down his back. He wasn’t sure about this, it was himself, he could at least take himself on… Right? Maybe he was really biting off more than he could chew here… But he felt stronger somehow… Filled with energy, emotion… He was strong! He was not some wimp like he had been convincing himself from his failures, he was going to destroy them! HE WAS THE HYPE MAN!

                “Come at me, ya bitch!” Jack smirked, getting in a battle position, lightning balls forming in his palms. “I ain’t afraid! Not anymore!” Jack then remembered of his staff and quickly pulled that out, his electric palms running currents through the staff. Then, he launched forward, landing it down with a crack against Antis cheek, knocking him over. But it didn’t seem like it stayed that way for long.

                “I hope that’s not all my counterpart has. That’d be rather disappointing.” He pretending to whine, flipping his hair aside.

                “I got a lot more where that came from, ya cocky bastard.” Jack growled. Anti suddenly zipped before Jacks face and threw him back with a single electrical charged punch, falling hard against the gravel of the road. Anti was soon over him again but before he could deliver another blow, Jack jabbed Anti in the gut with his staff and knocked him back a few feet with his foot.

                They kept running at each other, fist meeting staff and staff hitting flesh and each time they fell, they used their very quick ability to hop right back up into the others face and get at them with force. After about 10 minutes of back and forth, it seemed like a rather stalemate, but Anti had more energy than Jack, who was slowly feeling like his entire body was turning into jelly. Whoever realized fighting yourself would be the most difficult challenge? And why did that sound like such a philosophical concept except it’s actually quite literal at this moment?

                Both of them stared each other down for a moment. Jack felt backed into a corner, not literally but as to what do… Anti could easily call Dark over any moment to straight out beat him down, but he seemed like a prideful guy who had an ego too big to do that. Which he was actually thankful for in this situation. “You’re tired. I’ll get you down soon enough. We don’t tire as easily as you,” Anti taunted him, stretching out his neck.

                Jack had to use some strategy here instead of being headstrong. He took a moment to contemplate it over, and had an idea. Something he’s never tried before, on purpose at least… But maybe it will be far more powerful when he’s actually trying to… He quickly looked around. They were in a rather empty street and all of the buildings in this area were abandoned, so he was safe to do this. He inhaled sharply, and let out a mighty screech with all of his might. His voice pierced the silent night and heavy breathing, an ear shattering noise with every bit of might Jack had.

                Thunder and lightning crackled down from his voice, Dark and Anti debilitated by the mind destroying noise, but all their pained cries were muffled by the screech. It couldn’t have lasted more than say, 5 minutes—And Jack fell to knees, gasping for air. “Fucking hell…” He breathed heavily, his hand clenching the ground. He looked up again and found Dark and Anti were both down on the ground. Worried, Jack ran over to Anti—He was alive, but he seemed out cold… Thank god. Jack fell over, feeling lightheaded. He needed to breathe now…

                He hadn’t paid attention at all to the time that had passed, and dragged himself back up. He walked back into the alley where Sam had been watching everything, and gently held onto Sam. “Hope it didn’t bother you too, buddy.” And he received a shaking head from Sam. Good, Sam wasn’t hurt at least… He was about to rush off again, he was not going to stop searching because of the imbeciles, but he was distracted by a familiar dark cloak there laying on the ground. Jack felt his blood run cold. Could it be…?

                Jack leaned over, lifting up the hood. It was that same mask. The kitsune mask, he learned. Or something like that. He quickly grabbed it wanting to reveal him—but his hand was grabbed tightly—TOO tightly to the point it strained and pained his wrist badly. “Fuck—” He muttered, his heart racing.

                “Don’t do that…” He heard the same modified voice, but it was… Weak. He must’ve been hurt by the screech too. “I can’t- I can’t show you.”

                “Get the hell off me! Of course I’m gonna rip yer fucking mask off, you disgusting traitor! You kidnapped my friends of course I want to know who you are! Or you better bring me to them now!” Jack said, determination in his voice, his face angered and trying to stay strong.

                “I’ll take you to them… Just, please… I can’t show you my face.” He begged.

                Jack couldn’t help the pang in his heart. This guy may have been a fucking scumbag, but he was weak, so it’s not like he could do anything to him now. He pried his arm away from him, and then wrapped his other arm up around him, to help him up. “Show me, now. I won’t hesitate to use force.”

                “Yes, yes… I promise…” He stood now, and weakly started guiding him down further the alley. Jack tried to shoot a message to Danny, but the cloaked man seemed to have snatched his phone while he wasn’t paying attention since it was gone... Or he simply dropped it in combat, and if he went back to get it, the cloaked man could disappear again… This seemed like quite a predicament, but he wasn’t turning back now.

                They continued walking for what seemed like forever but he suddenly stopped. He stomped in a pattern that Jack couldn’t exactly identify because his body and everything was still in so much pain. An opening into the ground appeared. So this is why he couldn’t find it…! It was like some trapdoor! There were even stairs. “Follow me…” The cloaked man murmured. Jack winded back to hit him so he could investigate, but the cloaked man quickly grabbed his arm. “No cheap tricks. Just come with me.”

                Jack was astonished, and sighed in relief as the cloaked man dropped his hand. So apparently he couldn’t attack him without him knowing… This guy was too smart. He decided to follow him, knowing he could still defend himself if this was some kind of trick. Even if he was tired. He had his guard completely up. He followed him down the stone stairs, feeling the chilled air with each step in descent. Finally they reached the bottom, and the cloaked man continued striding forward, so of course he followed.

                Soon they both stood before a large iron door, and the cloaked man stepped to the side. “Your friends… They’re in here. You… You can’t touch them though.”

                “Why not?” Jack asked, looking to him angrily.

                “They’re… In a bad condition. You might hurt them… Cause irreversible damage.”

                Jack felt his blood boil with every word he spoke. He reached his fist to try to punch him right in the face, and he did. The mask flew from his face, but he quickly hid himself in the hood. While he was distracted with that, Jack rushed through the door—and was shocked by the site.

                There they were. Arin and Suzy, tied down to these—pseudo beds, which were slightly elevated. But it wasn’t the monstrous forms they had been trapped in. They looked actually… Human. Of course, not completely, many parts of them were still animal like and they were still larger in size from the average human. He was in such shock he didn’t realize the cloaked man was behind him again. “This… Is why you can’t touch them.”

                “How- What- What did you do?” Jack looked to him in shock, completely stunned by this. “How did you… Help them? Why?”

                “I can’t explain why. But I can tell you how.” He said, stepping forward to a large case filled with books and cassette tapes. “I found that Doctors works… I was curious if I could reverse the affects, so I took them. Maybe seen it as a kidnapping gone right.”

                “Well—you couldn’t just explained yourself,” Jack stuttered.

                “Yeah, that someone wants to do scientific experiments that could possibly result in their death wanted to try to fix them. I think he would’ve agreed to that.” He answered sarcastically. “Not to mention, I had to do it in secret. I can’t let them know where I am.”

                “Them…?” Jack stepped closer, curious.

                “Dark and Anti. They want me dead.” He simply stated.

                “What? Why? What could you have possibly done that they want you dead?”

                “It’s not what I’ve done and more what I have.” He looked to him hand, which was covered in a slick black glove. He curled his hand into a fist tightly. “They want to rip it from me and everyone I know. I can only help from the shadows.”

                “What the hell makes you so important?” Jack seemed more skeptical now, “What do they want to rip from you? WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?”

                “I can’t answer that.” He looked to Suzy and Arin. “Please, just trust me and let me take care of them. I need you to get rid of Dark and Anti. Or at least throw them off.”

                “That’s stupid! It’s not that hard, just cough it up you fucking asshole!”

                “Yeah, why not explain everything to him, doc? Or at least, you sure like to play that role.” Darks voice rang through the cold walls. “Since you’re the only one that can understand her chicken scrawl and her machinery.”

                “Fuck- I thought I closed the hatch—” He panicked, taking a step back.

                “Oh you did, but I pried it open.” Dark explained. “Antis the one who saw you with his third eye walk back here. How unfortunate. Why not just reveal who you are to Septic over here already before we tear your head off and reveal it that way?” He laughed.

                The cloaked man took a step forward. “Fight with me.” He commanded to Jack.

                “Why the fuck would I—”

                “DAMMIT, Sean if you want to fucking protect your friends that’s what you’re going to fucking do! Fight with me!” He hissed, turning to him.

                Jack realized he was right. He felt uneased at him suddenly yelling his real name like that. Who could he really be? He couldn’t possibly be—his train of thought didn’t last long before Anti seemed to jump up before him, and Jack whipped out the staff to block the punch coming straight for his face.

                The cloaked man ran towards Dark, a hard punch landing right into his gut sending him back a bit, but not too far. Fighting side by side… This all felt so, so familiar. Never mind that… He had to protect Arin and Suzy… And get ahold of Danny as quickly as possible. “Hope you can hold up,” Jack said to the cloaked man.

                “Just stay focused. Be a barrier.” He spoke

                “Alright.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhhh this is a longer chapter i had to literally cut it off on a cliffhanger because I didn't want to let it get too long because oh boy i had so many ideas to jam into this chapter tbh so SORRY ABOUT THAT DROP OFF RIGHT THERE AHAHAHAH   
> im gonna take a short break to work on another septiplier fic which is only gonna be about 3-4 chapters long since I received a prompt idea from my friend recently but im not leaving this behind dont worry, it just may take about a month to get the next chapter out. but i do have many new ideas and story stuff on the way!   
> by the way i have questions open for any of the superheroes (or villians) in this story over on my dA if you're interested! http://allitalianrejects.deviantart.com/art/Ask-Us-Questions-SepticSpark-and-Warfstache-673145161 just mostly me doing a buncha silly doodles and a few subtle jabs at what could be coming up.


	19. Keep Them Safe, Stay Alive For Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Stay Alive for me, Sean."

                “AGHH!” Jack grunted out loudly being tossed down hard to the ground, Anti delivering a blow to the back of his head. Jack pried his face from the ground, wiping off the blood he felt gushing from his nose. “God fucking dammit…” He cursed. He turned quickly before Anti could land down another attack on him, blocking it with his staff up over his face. They had a standoff of forces before Jack managed to shove him back tossing Anti aside to he could regain his own footing. He rushed towards him again and jabbed him roughly into his gut, and shot down an electric spike through Anti’s spine.

                Anti was on the ground, but it wasn’t too long before he hopped back up, his head butting into Jacks chin, and his back was soon against the cold hard wall. The still mysterious cloaked man and Dark were fighting intensely with each other. It even seemed like he was overpowering Dark in a way. Jack had gotten distracted and didn’t even notice Anti had come right back, and before he knew it Anti had his hands at his throat.

                Held against the wall, his feet couldn’t reach the ground and he was struggling, gasping for air. He started clawing at this throat trying to pry Antis hands off. “Let- ha- gO!” his struggled breathes making Anti merely laugh, “I’ll going to rip the air right from your throat!” Anti cackled, his sharp nails digging into Jacks neck.

                Jack was then dropped to the ground as the cloaked man stepped in, shoving his fist into Antis gut before being tackled down onto the ground by Dark. Jack gasped, coughing out roughly. But he didn’t have a lot of time to collect himself, seeing the man who just saved him get clocked down by Dark, while Anti was also pulling himself up again. He had an idea. He ran forward bunching Antis hair into his fist, and used all of his might to lift him up by the hair and throw him across this large empty area as far as he could. Then he turned to Dark, shocking lightning at him through his face, Dark yelling in agony and falling off of the cloaked man.

                “Thank you,” He said gratefully, and Jack nodded. He had just saved his ass too, but starting a conversation now wasn’t the wisest idea.

                “ENOUGH OF THIS! I’M GOING TO FUCKING END THIS!” Anti ripped out a handgun, “A headshot is all I need right? I’ll fucking slaughter both of you right here! Well I’m not sure how well it’d work on you,” He growled looking straight into the guys mask, and then turned to Jack. “But he doesn’t have any special abilities. You might be fast but if I can knock you out one shot could be your end! He wouldn’t want to go on after that, huh?” He laughed, his eyes widening and crazed look glued onto his face.

                Jack felt his heart pound, fear holding onto him tightly. He was not going out like this… He used his speed to get up into his face, but before he knew it a bullet was lodged into his shoulder and he was launched back like a ragdoll.

                “NO!” The cloaked man shouted, and tried to run to stop Anti, but Dark grabbed onto him from behind. He was stuck, struggling in his grasp, wiggling and trying to break free but he was tired out.

                “Fuck…” Jack hissed out from the burning sensation in his arm, looking right down the barrel pointed to his skull.

                “Wait wait, doesn’t he at least get one more liberty before we send him off? Make it the last thing he sees, yeah?” Dark smirked, and Anti liked that idea.

                “You’re right.” Anti chuckled. He aimed his gun up to the cloaked man. BOOM. It hit the side of his mask, sending it flying, grazing his cheek. His black hair fell down over his face, and he dropped his head down. He couldn’t look up… He couldn’t. Dark realized this and gripped onto his chin, forcefully propping his head up.

                It took Jack a full moment to recognize him, since almost half of his face was burnt and distorted. He was healing slowly, and so his face must’ve been must worse from what he can tell... But he realized who it was and felt his heart ache. “M…” Jack eyes brimmed with tears, his hand digging into his destroyed shoulder. “Mark…” He whimpered, his face stinging from tears coming down his face, running over cuts and scratches on his cheeks. “Why…? Mark… What is going on?” He begged. He needed answers… He needed to know why this was happening… Why he looked so damaged, what happened to him and what was going on… “Why?”

                “Sean…” Mark seemed to lose his words after that, so Dark stepped in.

                “He didn’t want to show his disgrace of a face around anymore after Anti attempted to burn him alive. Sadly it didn’t work, but his healing has been stunted because he’s been granting all of his abilities to reverse the effects of your friend’s monster transformation. We just had to drag you into this to find him. So sad you have to go now…” Dark said, “I’ll miss your pretty little face~” He teased. “Now Anti, doll, do the pleasure for me, will you?”

                “Yeah, yeah.” Anti held the gun back up to Jacks face but—He was gone? Without a trace of moving this time. All three of them seemed to be shocked by this. Usually Anti who had his speed was able to keep tabs on his but this time he completely missed him. “Wha- Where the fuck are you?!” He spun around doing a full 180. “SHOW YOURSELF BEFORE I KILL YOUR FUCKING WORTHLESS BOYFRIEND!” Anti shouted, but it fell as a staff connected to his temple, a loud cracking noise being heard, and before anyone realized, Anti was out cold on the ground, without even the chance to process what was happening.

                “ANTI!” Dark yelled out, watching him be dropped to the ground like that. Who--? Dark hadn’t realized he let go of his grip of Mark, and got a face full of fist directly to him, and right behind Dark there Jack was, yelling as he blasted Dark with all of the electricity he could conjure in his palm at that very moment. With a loud cry, he was down onto the ground, right beside Anti.

                Jack stood there now, breathing heavily, clenching his wounded shoulder, shaking. “Mark… Mark,” He tried to speak out to him, and Mark quickly grabbed him as Jack almost fell over.

                “Sean... Sean, you’re okay… Don’t talk, you look exhausted... You’ll exert yourself more than you already have…” Mark murmured, tearing off fabric from the dark cloak still around him, putting pressure down on the bullet wound, wrapping it in the fabric tightly, hoping it would calm the bleeding.

                “You’re… Hurt,” Jack muttered sadly, the arm without the bullet wound reaching out to gently touch his charred flesh. “Mark… Why…?”

                “I’m fine… I’m trying make sure you don’t bleed out here, so maybe focus on that instead…” Mark said, check for other serious injuries. He was beaten and bruised and bleeding all over… God fucking dammit, it reminded him of when he was so terrified he was going to lose him that it was going to be their final goodbye… But this time, Mark finally got the chance to be the one saying goodbye to him, he couldn’t stay… He pulled out a random flip phone he had the hold of, and texted Danny the address, having remembered the number. “Danny will be here soon… He’ll get you to the hospital,”

                “Don’t leave me… Not again,” Jack cried, tears flushing out from his eyes. “I need you… Don’t go, dammit… Tell me what the hell is going on, please…” He sobbed, his hand brushing down the burnt cheek of Marks. Mark grabbed his hand, holding it softly.

                “I can’t stay. They’ll come after you again. They won’t give up. The more I tell you, the more dangers you’ll be put in… I’m sorry.”

                “You’re an asshole, Mark!” Jack shouted, but so, so weakly, slamming his fist against his chest. “Fuckin… Just tell me… Don’t leave me in the dark… I’m so scared without you,” He gripped onto his chest now, trembling.

                Mark gave him a sad look. “It’ll make sense soon. Please… Take good care of those two. They’re getting better… I just can’t finish. Tell Danny to take all the books and writings here, as well as that blue cube, holding my some DNA that contained my regenerative abilities and they… They should be back to normal in no time. Hopefully,” Mark smiled weakly. “I… healed you all that time ago, and I realized I could extract that power from myself to help them… Be normal again, with the help of studying these books, but… Be careful… I’m not sure what’s going to happen to them from here...”

                Jack sniffled, his breathing weak and stifled. He then grabbed Mark by the back of his head, and pulled him into a kiss. Oh how much he missed this… Mark seemed taken back, but he did hold him a bit closer in his arms and returned the kiss, eyes shut in the quiet, close moment. Mark pulled back though after not too long, as he didn’t want to block off the amount of oxygen flow Jack needed for his open wounds. He breathed softly against his lips and managed to smile slightly more. “Stay with me…” Jack asked.

                “I’m not sure how that’d be possible… Maybe once things are sorted out… But I have to go…” Mark moved back, gently laying Jack onto the ground, having heard voices nearby now. It must be Danny and some of the others. He stood up, grabbing the mask and putting it away in his cloak. “I’ll toss these two somewhere far… But be more careful. They might come back… But hopefully they won’t wake for a while after where I drop them, I can only buy you time from here.” He lifted the both of them up. “I love you Sean. Don’t let them get ahold of the books or the cube alright? And… Stay alive for me, will ya?” He said, before suddenly disappearing away.

                Jack had exerted all of his energy left to attack Anti and Dark the way he did… He laid there pathetically, still feeling the tears on his face but not being able to wipe them away. But he had done what he promised Danny… He found them… And possibly… There was reason not to give up yet. Danny as well as the others who were searching now rampaged down the stairs of the cold underground, to find Jack there. Danny rushed towards him in a panic. “JACK! What had I told you about fighting on your own?”

                “I… I wasn’t alone,” Jack smiled weakly, looking up to Danny. Holly had rushed over to Arin and Suzy and were shocked by their condition.

                “D-Danny! Arin and Suzy they’re… Almost human like again?” She spoke out of shock, cautiously looking them over.

                “What?” Danny looked up, but quickly back to Jack. “What is going on here?”

                “These… Books… And the cube, it’s important… He said, they were the key to helping them… Be… Careful,”

                “He? HE WHO?” Danny asked, but it was no use. Jack had passed out. “Shit- this is no good. Barry, help me get him to a hospital.” He said, quickly rushing him over. “Ross, Holly, start looking through those books, and the cube thing. We’re gonna transfer them back carefully… I’ll ask Jack what this is all about once we get him back.”

                They all agreed and executed what Danny had said. Jack was brought to the hospital, and Arin and Suzy were carefully transported back to where they could watch them a lot more closely this time. While Jack was passed out in a hospital bed, Danny stayed with him to make sure he would be okay, as the others were instructed to study the notes and books. But none of them could really understand it beyond keeping them hooked up to certain machines and the blue cube which they were still trying to figure out what it even was.

\----

                Danny in the hospital watching over Jack now, he sat there looking over him sleeping, running a hand through his hair just to brush it out of his face, it was getting a bit shaggy and long at this point. “I wish you could tell me what the hell’s going on… Please wake up soon.” 

                “Is everything alright?” A voice sounded from the door. It was Bob, and he came over and sat down beside Danny, Wade following him in through the door.

                “Oh, you two… Thanks for dropping by.”

                “We wanted to make sure he was alright, we heard what happened.” Wade said, placing a flower bouquet on a table next to the hospital bed. “Also, we wanted to tell you what else we’ve heard.”

                “Vital Information?” Danny beckoned.

                Bob nodded, and pulled out his phone. “We we’re contacted by Mark for the first time since he disappeared. You’re going to want to read this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY THIS TOOK FOREVER TO GET OUT! It's not even that long! I just really wanted to make sure I was comfortable with finally getting like a reason for why it was so important for him to hide himself? im still working on that part but i think i got the idea pretty down pack and next chapter may big even more explanations for the mess going ooonn~


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